Serendipity
by MadameCissy
Summary: Jane Rizzoli is the determined but distant homicide detective. Maura Isles is the new but socially awkward medical examiner. Jane has a secret and Maura struggles with herself. Will Maura discover Jane's secret and can Jane help Maura find what she needs? Rizzles.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Jane Rizzoli is the determined but distant homicide detective. Maura Isles is the new but socially awkward medical examiner. Jane has a secret and Maura needs help. Will Jane allow Maura to discover her secret and can she help Maura solve a problem that has been haunting her since she was a child and can they work together to not only find answers but also, perhaps, a chance at love ?

**Timeline:** Okay, I am taking the timelines a little freely there. This story is set after the events in The Surgeon book (so post-Hoyt) but before the first episode of season 1, "See One, Do One, Teach One." In the first chapter there is a mention of the first meeting as described in season 3 but I am taking everything freely from there. In a way I want to rediscover Jane and Maura from another point of view and develop their characters and their relationship as they get to know each other.

**Rating:** T, for language and some swearing

**Disclaimer:** Rizzoli & Isles belongs to Tess Gerritsen, who is a brilliant author, and also to Janet Tamaro and TNT. I suppose in a way they also belong to Sasha and Angie, who have not only given these women a face but a voice as well.

**Pairing: **Rizzles eventually but the hints will be there all the way through**  
**

**Chapter 1**

_"Serendipity. _  
_Look for something, find something else, _  
_and realize that what you've found _  
_is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for." _  
_  
~ Lawrence Block_

South Boston was quiet on this early Thursday morning. The area was predominantly occupied by young professionals who had descended upon this part of Boston throughout the years still and who now lay soundly asleep in their beds, their mind free of work pressure and morning traffic jams. One of the strongest appeals about this side of Boston was the quick and easy access to the downtown areas. Once it had been home to many Roman Catholic families and several churches still donned many of South Boston's street corners. These days the area had transformed into an appealing home to those who were making their way up in the business world. In a few hours' time the expensive cars would be clogging the city's streets and men in pinstriped suits and women in pencil skirts would be making their way into one of the many office buildings.

A lone police car drove down one of the narrow streets, lined with new build apartment blocks on either side. Most of the windows were still dark and the uniformed officer behind the wheel kept his eyes peeled on the road ahead of him. His shift would end within the next hour and a half and after a long, boring night officer James McKinnon couldn't wait to sign off for the day. His luck was in too because it was his long weekend off. Three days of not having to wear his uniform or drive a patrol car around the streets of Boston. He wasn't fond of the night shifts that were demanded of him but it was part of being on the beat. He had only graduated from the Academy last year and he was eager to make his way up in the ranks. As the thought crossed his mind he cast a casual glance at his partner. Tim Sheen had been a police officer for over twenty years and had taken many rookies under his wing. Something about his laid back attitude made that the young men and women fresh out of the academy felt comfortable around him.

"You doing anything this weekend?" James asked as he let the wheel slide through his hands before indicating he was about to turn left. The roads were clear.

"The wife has invited her mother over," Tim said with a lazy smile. "I think I'd be lucky if I didn't end up at Homicide within the forty eight hours."

James grinned. "That bad, eh?"

"My mother-in-law makes Cruella DeVille look like Mary Poppins," Tim answered. He reached for the scanner on the dashboard as it creaked and as he did so, he furrowed his brow. Something in her peripheral vision caught his eye and his head snapped back. His reaction was out of instinct and he reached for the wheel. "Pull over."

"What the hell?" James asked in surprise, slapping his partner's hand away as he tried to control the vehicle. "What for?"

"Just do it!"

James stopped the car, spooked by the sudden urgency of his partner's voice, and lined it up with the sidewalk. Tom opened the door and quickly abandoned the vehicle. James undid his seatbelt and followed his partner out into the crisp early morning air. He took his flashlight from his belt, switched it on and let the yellow beam dance over the dark tarmac and paved sidewalk as his partner walked back in the direction they had just come from. James took a few more steps in his direction before freezing in his step. Tim had come to an unexpected stop and covered his mouth with his hand.

"Jesus Christ!"

James let his flashlight shine onto whatever it was that his partner had seen and felt his stomach drop. The bile rose in the back of his throat as the beam of light reflected off the contorted face of a woman. Her eyes were wide open but glazed over and void of life. She laid sprawled out between a couple of black trash bags. James opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He had never stared death in the face before and the sound of his flashlight dropping to the ground echoed around the quiet street as he turned around before emptying his stomach in the nearest bushes.

Tim reached for the radio attached to his uniform. "Officer Tim Sheen to Command Central. Do you read?"

A crackling woman's voice answered. "This is Command Central. "

"We've discovered a body on Longdon Avenue, South Boston," Tim said with a shaky voice. He averted his eyes so he no longer stared at the woman's pale face. A cold shiver crept down his spine. He had found bodies before, maybe once or twice, but this was the first time where it felt as if the victim looked straight at him, like a quiet plea for help that was never going to be heard. "I am requesting Homicide assistance."

"Understood. Homicide will be dispatched as soon as possible," answered the woman's voice on the other side of the radio. "Secure the scene and wait until back up has arrived."

~()~

Jane Rizzoli stepped out of her black sedan and tried to smooth the creases out of her blazer as she straightened her spine. She stifled a yawn and reached back into the car to pick up the cup of fresh Starbucks coffee she had picked up on her way here. The persistent ringing of her cell phone had roused her from a restless sleep less than an hour ago and she had answered without even checking the caller ID, knowing a phone call before sunrise could only mean one thing. Hearing her partner Barry Frost's voice on the other side of the line announcing a body had been found erased whatever little sleep still clouded her mind and by the time she had taken a quick shower and got dressed, Jane felt remarkably alert for someone who had enjoyed less than four hours sleep. She double checked her badge was clipped to her black slacks and then stalked across the street towards the yellow police tape that marked the crime scene. She registered herself with the uniformed officer on duty and looked around for Frost. She found him at a safe distance from the body and the corners of her mouth subconsciously twisted. For a Homicide detective, Frost was surprisingly unable to be around death.

"What have we got?" she said when she reached him. He looked a little peaky as he checked his notebook and Jane observed Vince Korsak standing about two feet away, looking at something that was lying between a couple of black trash bags.

"Female. Looks like several stab wounds to the abdomen. No ID and no handbag." Frost looked up from his notebook. Jane observed the rings around his eyes. Here stood another detective who had not slept enough. "We're waiting for the Medical Examiner."

Jane pinched the bridge of her nose. They were standing in a large residential area and not really the type of place where people went round leaving dead bodies on sidewalks. Her dark eyes scanned the area, taking in the faces of the small crowd that had gathered outside the police lines. "Any idea how she ended up here?"

Frost shook his head. "No, and when you see her you'll understand why."

"You coming?" she questioned him but Frost shook his head and muttered something about making inquiries. Jane patted him on his arm, suggested he'd get some bagels from the store at the end of the street and then walked up to Vince Korsak, who had now knelt down to one knee.

"I hope you're not proposing to her," Jane snickered when she reached the older detective and he looked up when he recognised her voice.

"Jane." His eyes lit up as they met hers and the smile that spread across his face was genuine. Vince Korsak had been on the job for many years and Jane had taken a strong liking to him. Together they had been through a lot and he was one of her closest friends, if not one of her only friends. "I didn't know you were on call."

"My lucky night," Jane replied and turned her head to look at whatever Korsak had been looking at. An unexpected sense of shock engulfed her when she realised their victim was naked. She lay partially propped up against one of the trash bags, her right arm almost protectively draped around the dark plastic. Her left arm had been folded beside her body, with her hand in her lap, allowing it to half cover her most intimate parts. Jane's gaze lingered for a moment on the woman's blood stained face before trailing down her neck towards her chest. She recognised the stab wounds Frost had mentioned. Dried blood covered the edges and dark streaks desecrated pale white flesh.

"I take it she didn't walk out here naked on her own," Jane concluded. "Someone brought her here."

"Someone who really wanted her to be degraded in every way possible," Korsak agreed and looked at the dark haired woman standing next to him. Jane Rizzoli was the only female detective in the Homicide Department and she had been his partner until recently. As the thought crossed his mind his gaze briefly darted down to Jane's hands. She hid them in the pockets of her blazer. He had noticed she was edgy about the scars and she didn't like people to see them. Korsak's eyes drifted back up and came to a rest on Jane's hardened features. She wasn't unattractive but, and he didn't mean to piss her off, but Jane didn't particularly care for her appearance. Thick black curls framed her face, accenting the sharp jaw line and dimples in her cheeks whenever she smiled. Rough-and-tumble Rizzoli, he called her. What you see is what you get and if you didn't like it, you had better clear the hell out.

"Looks like the ME's here," Jane said as she looked up to discover another car pulling up just outside the crime scene. She whistled through her teeth as she studied the expensive, shiny car. "Jesus, what pathologist drives a freakin' Lexus?"

"Must be that new one everyone's been talking about," Korsak guessed. He leant in to Jane. "I wondered when we'd get the pleasure. I heard she's a bit of a weird character, this one."

Jane snorted at that statement. "Would you call anyone who cuts into dead bodies normal?"

They watched the driver of the Lexus get out of their car and the first thing Jane noticed was a high heeled open toe shoe, black leather with a fine strap around the ankle. A second foot was placed firmly beside the first before they stood up. Jane watched the legs move around the car and her eyes trailed up along finely shaped calves until they reached the end of a black dress that reached till just above the knee. Her curiosity was triggered and Jane's eyes drifted up further. The black dress clung to a well formed figure and was accented by a dark red jacket that reached down to the woman's waist. Everything about the outfit screamed that it had been put together with great care and probably had a price tag larger than Jane's monthly salary six times over. Honey blonde locks of hair fell down the woman's shoulders, framing her face. She clutched her medical kit and a pair of gloves as she crossed the street and reached the uniformed officer with the clipboard. Jane strained her hearing to listen to the woman state her name.

"Doctor Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner."

Jane glanced at Korsak, masking her surprise over the unexpected arrival behind a face of professionalism. "Whatever happened to what's his name?"

"Retired, or so I heard," Korsak answered. He rolled his eyes. "It's allright for some."

Jane watched as the woman she now knew to be Doctor Maura Isles made her way towards them. The woman walked with small steps, possibly due to the height of her heels, and Jane took all the time in the world to observe her. Maura Isles seemed unfazed by the early hour and looked immaculate, as if someone had just ripped her straight out of a fashion magazine. The sound of her heels clicking against the pavement could have been annoying but Jane somehow found it refreshing. A hint of recognition appeared in her eyes as the woman came closer and then it hit her.

It had happened a few months ago, in the cafeteria back at the station. She'd been working undercover for the Drugs Squad and was dressed up as a hooker but had been called back to hand in her report. Stanley refused to give her the coffee and donut because she had no money, even though he knew damn well who she was, and this woman had appeared out of nowhere, trying to push a couple of bucks into her hand. She had been offended and sneered something about her having to mind her own business. The woman had replied she ought to try some healthier options, Jane couldn't remember the exact reason why, but she had turned around and left, without the food or drink. As she watched Maura Isles come closer she realised with a shock this was the very same woman. A slight feeling of embarrassment crept up on Jane.

"Good morning, detectives," Maura said rather perky. Inquisitive hazel eyes flashed from Korsak to Jane and seemed to linger a little longer on the slender detective's frame. A slight frown spread across her face. "I don't think we have met before."

"Detective Vince Korsak," Korsak said and jerked his head towards Jane. "The grumpy one over here is Detective Jane Rizzoli." Maura Isles smiled at the greeting. "Good morning to you too, doc"

"Morning," Jane said without making eye contact. "Not so sure about the good part." She pointed at the body between the trash. "Certainly isn't a good morning for her."

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Maura said unexpectedly, her gaze still fixed on Jane's face. Recollection dawned in her eyes. "I've seen you before, I think. In the cafeteria." Maura's eyes shamelessly lowered down to Jane's legs before wandering back up. "You look… better."

Jane groaned softly. She had hoped the medical examiner wouldn't recognise her. After all, wandering into BPD dressed in a leather mini skirt with fishnet tights and knee length boots, finished off with a white fur jacket wasn't the best thing she had ever done. She ran her fingers through her hair and averted her eyes. "It was for a case." It was muttered so softly that no one really heard her. She watched as Maura pushed her hands into a pair of gloves before kneeling down beside the body. Slender fingers trailed over the stab wounds in the victim's chest.

"You see any blood?" Korsak asked, looking at Jane.

"No."

What she did see were the dark coloured marks on the sidewalk. She turned on her heel and looked at the small patch of grass ran alongside it. It was wet. Jane's dark eyes darted to the small but bright green front lawns on either side of the street. They belonged to the new build apartment complexes. What she saw were the sprinklers and she heaved a sigh. Man's vanity had extended beyond the appearance of a body or a house. Now even the freaking grass had to look good at all times. It was the middle of August and the temperatures had been in the high eighties for days. Of course people had sprinklers. God forbid if your grass started to go yellow and died.

Jane's eyes found Korsak. "You think she was killed somewhere else?"

"I would have expected more blood if she'd been stabbed here."

"Good point. Besides, a naked woman in the middle of the road is bound to get someone's attention. I'll make sure Frosts asks the neighbours." Jane glanced over her shoulder at her partner. He was talking to a man dressed in a pair of grey sweat pants and a t-shirt clutching a water bottle. He looked like just another high end business associate about to go for his morning jog.

Maura Isles studied the victim's contours. The woman's face was pale and red smudges of blood marred her appearance. Strands of burgundy red hair had fallen into her eyes. The stab wounds in her chest appeared deep and she let her index finger slide across the edges. They were smooth and as she pushed a little against the skin she could see deeper into the wound. She seemed well nourished with little body fat. Her strategically placed arms covered her genitalia and her breasts, though the curves of her womanhood were still displayed to the world. Maura felt a certain need to cover her, to shield her from all these prying eyes, and to give her back some of the dignity that had been taken from her but she knew that there was far worse to come. An autopsy was unforgiving in every meaning of the world.

"What's your guess, doctor Isles?" Jane asked, fixing her eyes on the other woman.

Disturbed from her trail of thoughts, Maura looked up with a smile gracing her lips and she brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Bright, hazel green eyes met Jane's dark brown orbs. "Oh, I don't guess, detective."

Jane blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I find that guessing is not something that I like to take part in. I rely on science to give me definitive answers," Maura answered with a straight face and Jane couldn't tell whether the medical examiner was being serious or was trying to pull her leg. "I will hopefully be able to provide you with answers after I have performed the autopsy."

"O-kay," Jane answered hesitantly. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this new medical examiner's answer. She was used to being told a possible cause of death, and in this case it seemed pretty obvious, and she usually enjoyed a little speculation at the scene. She found it triggered her brain into a certain thinking mode that allowed her to spot patters far quicker than when she had to read the details of a piece of paper.

"Jane?"

She looked up when Frost appeared behind her. She turned to look at him. "Got anything?"

"That guy over there said he came home at 2 am last night and put out the trash," Frost said and gestured at the black bags. "Those are his."

"I take it a dead naked woman wasn't part of the recycling?"

Frost shook his head. "Trash collectors usually make their rounds down these streets around nine." He checked his watch. "That's in three hours' time."

"Officer Sheen reported the body to Command Central at 5.02 am," Jane remembered. "Where is he?"

Frost pointed at the patrol car parked across the street and Jane spotted the uniformed officer sipping from a styrofoam cup of coffee. His younger partner leant against the door of the car, looking pale and in desperate need of some sleep. She nudged Frost, left Korsak to deal with the medical examiner and they crossed the street.

"What you make of the new medical examiner?" Jane asked once they were out of hearing range.

"She's hot."

"Besides the obvious, Frost."

"She's strange."

Jane snorted. "Really, Frost? Strange? You call yourself a detective? What, you found your badge at the bottom of a Crackerjack Box or something?"

"Hey, you asked, I answered!" Frost came to his own defence. He looked over his shoulder to find Korsak talking to Maura. "Never met a medical examiner who doesn't at least establish cause of death at the scene."

Jane didn't get a chance to reply as they reached officers Sheen and McKinnon. She pushed her hands back in her pockets and let her eyes briefly wander of the two men's faces. Nightshifts were unkind to people, she remembered. She had done plenty of them herself in the past. She flashed them an encouraging smile. "We'll just kept his short and you can go home to your beds."

"Thanks," Sheen answered. "It's been a long night."

Frost opened his notebook. "Can you talk me through what happened?"

"We were just finishing up our patrol. You know, final rounds and stuff before heading back to the station," McKinnon answered. Jane detected the fear in his voice and felt sympathy for the guy. Rookies weren't trained to deal with crap like this. Even some of the most hardened men and women on the job still felt their stomach turn when they reached a crime scene and Jane knew more than a few hardcore homicide detectives who still couldn't face an autopsy without Vapo-Rub smeared under their noses.

"I was about to call it a night, check in with the operator and make our way back, you know," Sheen said. "I leant forward…" He mimicked the action by leaning towards Jane. She instinctively moved away. "When I reached for the radio, I thought I saw something. I just looked real quick and I saw her lying there."

"Did you see any cars drive down here while you were doing your patrols?" Jane asked.

McKinnon shook his head. "It's been pretty quiet all night. Not much happening down here on a Thursday. It's the Friday and Saturday nights that are in the interesting ones. Bar brawls, fist fights…" He shrugged. "Never seen a dead person before."

Jane resisted answering that he would get used to it. People died every day. Sooner or later it would be someone he knew. She glanced at Frost, who had finished writing. "Allright, go home guys. If we need anything else from you, we'll let you know. Get some sleep." The two uniformed officers nodded in appreciation and got back into their car. As they drove away Jane thought to herself that neither of those two men was going to get any sleep at all.

"Detective Rizzoli?"

She turned around when she heard Maura call her name and slowly walked back towards the medical examiner. She sat on her knees beside the victim and had pushed aside one of the trash bags, ready to move the body and bring her back to the morgue.

"What is it?" Jane asked when she reached her.

Maura pointed at something lying next to the victim, partially hidden by her hair. Jane recognised the fine golden chain that had once been a necklace and she beckoned for one of the crime scene investigators to come over so he could take a picture before she took an evidence bag from her pocket and carefully picked it up. The chain dangled between her fingers and glistened in the early morning sunlight.

"That is a Swarovski pendant," Maura said and a gloved hand reached for the necklace Jane was holding. Their fingers, though separated by latex, brushed against each other as Maura studied the pendant more closely. Jane felt a shiver creep down her spine and fixed her eyes on the other woman's face. In those few seconds she made another observation. Maura Isles was beautiful.

"Are you done?" Jane asked as Maura let the pendant slide through her fingers. It came out harsher than she had intended and the female doctor seemed taken aback. "I need to take this to Evidence."

"Sure, I'm done." Maura composed herself. "She is the only autopsy on my list so far so I'll see you in an hour?" She stood up and looked down at the detective still kneeling beside the victim. Jane looked up to her, puzzled. Maura grinned. "You do attend autopsies, don't you, detective Rizzoli?"

Jane smiled. "I guess I am now."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thanks for all the alerts and the kind reviews so far, people. Here is chapter two and I think it is becoming quite obvious nearer the end that Jane has some serious issues to work through.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Maura Isles stood beside her autopsy table, her trained eyes fixed on the female body lying in front of her. The Jane Doe was naked apart from two thin strips of sheet that covered her breasts and her private area. In the harsh light of the autopsy room the body lay exposed in its most brutal form. Not a bruise, not a scratch would remain hidden. This woman's most personal details would soon be exposed and Maura would be touching her in a way no person would ever want to be touched. Starting with brushing her hair in an almost gentle manner, like a mother would to a child and which created the false image of tenderness and safety, to placing her legs in stirrups and somehow brutalising her all over again. Maura always had to remind herself in that one instant she did what she had to do to help the victims she saw on her table, that she wanted to give answers to those who had been left behind. She tried to be gentle and kind, even during the most invasive parts of the autopsy, because she believed she owed them that much.

"The body is that of a unknown Caucasian female, approximately between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, five foot and five inches tall and weighing 148 pounds. The hair is auburn and the colour of the eyes is green." Maura's voice was clear and bounced off the walls of the otherwise empty autopsy room as she spoke. She glanced down at the voice recorder placed beside her on the tray. "Body shows six stab wounds to the chest and no obvious signs of defensive wounds. Finger nails are not broken and appear clean and well-manicured. I will now proceed with the internal examination."

She picked up the scalpel from her neatly organised tray, stepped closer to the table and tenderly removed the sheet that covered Jane Doe's breasts. A slight frown appeared on her face as she observed the somewhat unnatural swell of the victim's breasts. Implants, was her first thought. She would find out soon enough. She was about to place the blade on the woman's skin when the door to the autopsy room opened. Maura looked up.

"Did I miss anything exciting?" Jane Rizzoli asked casually as the door closed behind her. She reached for a clean set of scrubs hanging up on the hook by the door, took a pair of gloves from the box on the table and fumbled with one of the mouth masks before walking towards the table. From the way she manoeuvred her body and hands into the protective gear Maura guessed she had done this plenty of times before.

"No," she answered as the dark haired detective reached the aluminium table. "I am about to make the Y-incision."

The corner of Jane's lips twitched. "Oh goody." She glanced down at the naked woman lying in between her and the medical examiner. "Anything you can tell me so far?"

Maura's gloved hand followed the pattern of stab wounds across Jane Doe's chest, tracing every single one with her index finger. "The wounds appear to be consistent with a single edged blade." She softly pushed against the edges. "See the sharp point of the blade here…" Maura pointed at the stab wound nearest to Jane and she could tell the distinct difference. ".. and the notch of the opposite side of the blade here." Hazel eyes unexpectedly snapped up and connected with dark brown. "Does that help?"

"It does," Jane answered and felt her breath unexpectedly hitch in the back of her throat. "Thank you."

Maura straightened her spine and realigned her scalpel with Jane Doe's shoulder before moving it down towards her sternum. From where she was standing Jane had a perfect view of the silver blade cutting easily through the unknown woman's layers of flesh and muscles. The skin peeled away easily and Jane, though familiar with autopsy and not unnerved by it at all, felt her stomach drop at the sight of the woman's violated chest. There was something cold and degrading about seeing a person so exposed. She watched intently as Maura carefully folded the two flaps of skin aside and exposed the ribcage and neck muscles.

Maura reached for an instrument that could be described as little else than a saw and placed it against Jane Doe's ribcage. For a few minutes all that could be heard was the blade grating against the bones and Jane waited for the distinct soft 'crack' that always followed the second the bones snapped. Maura picked her scalpel back up, cut the remaining pieces of tissue and then used both her hands to lift the ribcage out of the body and placed it on a tray.

"Look at this," she said suddenly and Jane tore her eyes away from the gaping chest cavity and looked at the medical examiner studying the ribcage. "Looks like the blade carved the bone."

"Really?" Jane asked and walked around the table. She felt a surge of adrenaline in her veins and when she reached Maura she too studied the damaged bone. The medical examiner's gloved hand pointed at a few tiny scratches on one of the ribs and she turned her head to give Jane a sideways glance. The detective's stomach did an unexpected summersault and the back of her throat became dry when their gazes locked.

"It is not uncommon for blades to graze across the ribs but the marks on the bone can tell us a lot about the type of knife the killer used," Maura said, still holding Jane's gaze. "I will get one of my techs to try and match it to the known knives in the system."

"Thanks," Jane muttered and held her breath as Maura turned away from her and continued with the autopsy. She slowly raised herself up to her full figure, slowly releasing her breath, and suddenly became aware of her clammy hands inside her gloves. She mentally chastised herself and walked back around the table to watch the rest of the autopsy.

"How long have you been in Homicide, detective Rizzoli?"

The question caught her off guard and Jane blinked a few times. Maura hadn't taken her eyes off the body but it was clear that she expected a response. When none came she looked up and peered at the dark haired woman through her eyelashes.

"A year," Jane answered and chewed her bottom lip. It had only been a year but it felt like it had been much longer. It had been an eventful year to say the least. She wasn't comfortable with people asking her questions. It always felt like an interrogation. Jane didn't like interrogations, not when they were conducted on her anyway. "Got transferred from the Drugs Squad."

"That's where we met, isn't it?" Maura asked. There was an innocence to her question. "That day in the canteen?"

"Yes," Jane admitted. "I was undercover at the time, as you may have noticed."

"I didn't think short skirts and leather boots were standard attire at BPD these days."

Jane wasn't sure whether to smile or ask what Maura thought _was_ appropriate attire. She rubbed her hands together, suddenly irritated by the latex against her skin. "How long have you been the medical examiner? I don't remember seeing you at any other crime scenes."

"I only started last week," Maura answered and let out a soft hiss when she cut through the tissue that connected the heart to the rest of the body. She cupped it in her hand and slowly removed it from its place and showed it to Jane. She held it up to eye level and inspected it for any abnormalities. "I heard my predecessor retired."

"He did," Jane answered and furrowed her brow. "Hey, if you only started here last week, how come you were here last year?"

"Oh, I was only here to assist during a particular case," Maura explained and put down the heart on the scales before noting down its weight. "I believe it was a shooting in a bar in downtown Boston." She screwed up her nose as she attempted to remember more details. "Automatic weapons, if my memory serves me correctly. Lots of victims, all male, I believe."

Jane remembered the case. It had been a mob related shooting and one family had managed to wipe out another rivalling family in just one night. It had been one of the worst mob related crimes in the last two decades. Every division in Boston had been working on the case together, including Drugs and Homicide. It was the first time she got to experience working murder cases and after bringing her undercover operation to an end, she had requested a transfer.

Maura picked the heart back up out of the scales and inspected it once again. "Hmm, our victim suffered from aortic valve stenosis."

Jane arched an eyebrow. "In English please?"

"It means one of the valves in the heart doesn't properly open and close and it may leak blood," Maura explained and watched the questions rise in the detective's eyes. "It can cause damage when the blood flowing out of the heart is trapped by the poorly working valve."

"Are you saying she would have died anyway?"

"No, her case appears to be pretty mild. She won't have had any symptoms but she would have been at a greater risk of congenital heart failure." Maura slowly put the heart down in the silver tray to her left and looked up at the detective. "In due time she may have needed a valve replacement."

Jane glanced at the opened up body on the table. "Not anymore."

"Are you any closer to finding out who she is?" Maura asked. There was a sudden softness to her voice that made Jane looked up. Her gaze lingered on the doctor's face but she was careful to do it in a way the other woman didn't see her looking. She decided to stick to her previous observation. Maura Isles was beautiful. Her honey blonde hair was bound back in a simple ponytail for the autopsy and Jane's eyes followed the line of Maura's neck down to the collar of her protective gown. Slowly they trailed back up until they found the other woman's face. Maura's eyes were a shade of hazel green Jane had never seen before. She found it hard to guess the doctor's age but Jane thought that she had to be around the same age as she was, so maybe in her early thirties. The one thing she remembered from the crime scene was the absence of a wedding ring. Maura Isles wasn't married.

"Detective?"

"Hmm?" Jane was roused from her musings by the sound of Maura's voice. "Oh, yes, her identity. Detective Frost is running her prints through AFIS right now." Jane remembered Frost walking into Homicide half an hour earlier, clutching a small see through bag containing the victim's fingerprints which had been taken down here in the morgue. "Hopefully that will give us a hit. If not then there's always the facial recognition software." Jane's eyes wandered over the woman's face. "Would you mind taking a picture of her when you're finished and emailing it to me?"

"Of course," Maura answered as her hands slipped back into the chest cavity and tenderly removed another of the victim's organs. Jane had seen plenty of autopsies to recognise the human liver. Maura weighed it, made her notes and then placed it a tray. "You want to observe me analysing the stomach content?"

Jane felt a shiver creep down her spine and automatically wrapped her arms around herself. "Sure." She watched with an uncomfortable look how the medical examiner removed the stomach from the body. She chewed her bottom lip as Maura pulled a tray towards her, placed the stomach carefully in it and then cut it with her scalpel. Jane wrinkled her nose as the distinct smell of stomach acids. "As soon as you're moving on the bowels, I'm outta here."

"Somehow that never seems to be anyone's favourite part," Maura said without looking up.

"Gees, I wonder why."

"The food hasn't been digested yet," Maura said as she picked up a pair of tweezers and picked something up from the smelly liquid in the tray. Jane instinctively took a step back. "What does this look like to you?"

"I don't think I want to know."

"Could be salmon," Maura said as she studied the small piece. She put it back down in the tray. She looked up and her eyes met Jane's. A little smile spread across her face and Jane watched how those hazel green eyes suddenly brightened up. "I'll perform a full analysis and will have the results by the end of the day."

"Thank you, Dr Isles," Jane said.

"Maura."

Jane's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"Since we'll be working together a lot, I thought it would be good if you knew my first name," Maura answered. "I don't really like formalities in my morgue, detective."

"Oh, okay," Jane rambled. She was caught off guard; Maura's predecessor was a man who had preferred to be addressed by his title, not by his first name. Come to think of it, Jane wasn't sure she even knew the man's name. She realised that Korsak had been right. This woman definitely was a strange one. Strange but refreshing, Jane thought and she sheepishly smiled. "Well, err, my name is Jane."

"I know," Maura answered rather matter-of-fact. "I assume you have other leads to follow in this case so unless you are really eager to watch me dissect the bowel, shall I just email you the results?"

"Any chance you can bring them up to Homicide once you have them?" Jane asked. She wasn't the type to use her email much and it was common knowledge that she didn't read most of the medical reports sent to her anyway. Too much medical mumbo jumbo for her. When she saw the surprise in Maura's eyes she quickly added, "I'm not at my desk an awful lot. If I'm out, you can give the report to detectives Korsak or Frost."

Maura smiled. "Of course."

"Right, I guess I'll see you around then," Jane said as she began to peel off her gloves. She chucked them in the sanitary bin provided before untying her scrubs and throwing them in too. Her hands automatically slipped into the pockets of her slacks as she walked to the door. Before she left she turned around and watched Maura reach back inside the victim's body. "Did you hear of any other big cases while you were here last year?"

Maura looked up, her hands filled with Jane Doe's intestines, and gave Jane a puzzled look. "No. Why?"

"Nothing," Jane sighed in relief and unclenched her fists in her pocket. "I'll see you later."

~()~

She sat at her desk with a small pile of paperwork in front of her. Her computer buzzed softly, bleeping every so often to announce another email. She had not checked them since earlier this morning. Nothing useful other than a memo about changes in the parking system, something she didn't particularly care about. The rest of her emails had been sent by Frost and were of the type that were meant as a funny joke but were so bad that they were mainly irritating. She had skimmed through the internal messages sent between departments and updated herself on one of the latest drug busts made by her old squad. She didn't miss the night long stake outs fuelled by crappy coffee and greasy pizza's one bit.

Jane absentmindedly drew circles around the scars on her hands. The tissue was slightly raised and although they had begun to fade, they still sat obviously against the somewhat tanned flesh. Lowering her gaze to study the desecrating marks once again, she was overwhelmed by anger. She _hated _these scars. She hated how they had become a part of her and of her life. Feeling the anger rush through her veins, Jane clenched and unclenched her fists. The scars hurt every so often and she would get strange tingling sensations in her fingers. She had not quite regained the feeling in her fingertips after the nerve damage.

A soft hand on her shoulder made her jump and her head snapped around to find Korsak standing behind her. The tenderness in her eyes made Jane feel terrible. She didn't want people to pity her. "You allright?" he asked.

"Fine," she answered as she removed her hands from her desk and folded them in her lap, away from prying eyes.

"They hurt?" the older detective asked.

"No."

It was a lie. They did hurt. Just not in the way people thought they did. It wasn't the sharp pain of something piercing through her skin, severing her tendons and her nerves. It was the pain no one could see. The pain of weakness and of blame. No one blamed her. Jane blamed herself. It had been almost a year now but most days it might as well have been yesterday. She had physically recovered from what happened but the journey had been slow and painful. She was ashamed and angry, reminded of her own mortality. No one wanted to be reminded that life could be over any second and whenever she looked at these scars, these horrid memories, she was forced to remember that life really could be taken away from you in just one moment.

"When was the last time you went for your psyche evaluation?" Korsak asked as he leant against her desk. He studied Jane Rizzoli's face and saw the darkness in her eyes. She avoided meeting his gaze and he recognised he rejection. He wished, somewhere deep down, that she would be a little more forthcoming. She had been his partner, he had put all his trust in her and he had come to see her as a friend.

"You know what those shrinks are like, Korsak!" Jane exclaimed and venom laced her words. "All they want you to do is talk about how you _feel._ They aren't trying to help you fix stuff. They just make you whine like a little kid!"

Korsak's eyes narrowed. "When was the last time you actually went?"

"Last week," Jane reluctantly answered.

"I didn't mean the last time you walked up to the door and then left, Jane," Korsak said kindly. He knew the dark haired detective too well. She gave him a sideways glance, clearly annoyed that he had figured it out. "I meant the last time you actually sat down on that couch and talked."

"Three months ago," she admitted.

"You know they are just trying to help, Jane."

"I don't need help, Korsak! I just want to carry on with my life. I want to come into work and not feel like everyone is staring at me, pitying me for what that monster did to me!" Jane raised her voice and across the department people started looking up from their desks. "I want to move on, live my life like it never happened."

She pushed her chair back and stomped across the room towards the door. Just as she was about to push against it, someone else opened it from the other side and Jane found herself faced with Maura Isles. Her head snapped back towards Korsak. He watched her with sadness in his eyes.

"It _did_ happen, Jane," he said.

She shook her head and filed past the medical examiner. "Not to me, it didn't."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hi guys, thanks for the reviews so far. I have quite a few ideas for this story and throughout these first few chapters tiny little hints have been dropped about things that will come back in later ones. I am enjoying writing Jane and Maura from the beginning, which means I can slowly build their relationship. With the ideas I have this story is going to be a bit of a slow burner but for once that is something I enjoy. I hope you guys do too. ~Cissy**  
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**Chapter 3**

She closed the door to her apartment behind her and double checked she had put the chain on twice before turning around. Her eyes adapted quickly to the darkness of the room but nevertheless her hand slipped down to the holster of her gun. The only light came from a small lamp on the coffee table next to the couch. She had left it on this morning before rushing out of her house, nearly tripping over the abandoned newspaper from the day before. She strained her hearing for a moment or two to reassure herself that she was truly alone as she reached for the light switch on the wall halfway to the kitchen. The room bathed in bright light and Jane released her breath. The tension ebbed away from her and she unclipped her gun and badge before leaving them on the counter and making her way across her apartment to take a shower.

Dressed in a pair of simple grey sweatpants and a Red Sox jersey and with her hair still damp she walked back into the living room, picked up the remote in passing and switched on the TV. Seconds later she heard the familiar sounds of the ESPN commentator talking about the details of this weekend's big game. She only listened half as she opened the fridge and inspected its content. A half full bottle of milk, some left over vegetables from the one night this week she actually got to cook, some cheese and two six packs of beer. She groaned in frustration. She would have to go shopping sooner or later. It was one of the few things she actually hated.

She took a bottle of beer, closed the fridge and reached for the phone hanging on the wall next to the fridge. She hardly ever used it, doing most of her talking on her cell phone these days, but she pressed the number one and heard her stomach rumble as a man answered on the other side of the line. "Joe's Pizza, may I take your order, please?"

She smiled. "Joe, it's Jane."

"Rizzoli!" the man said and Jane could practically hear the smile in his voice. "I thought you'd forgotten about me. The usual, I take it?"

"Yeah," Jane answered. "If you can get here in twenty minutes, I'll see to it that the next parking ticket one of your guys gets will disappear."

"I'll be there in fifteen."

She hung up, picked up her beer and walked into the living room. She fell down on the couch, put her feet up on the coffee table and glanced at her TV. She wasn't in the mood for sports and began flicking through the channels, coming across cheesy soap operas, overly dramatic tv series and even some religious preaching programme. With a discontented sigh she switched the damned thing off, took a large swirl from her bottle and allowed herself a moment to take in the silence of her apartment.

She had only lived her for six months or so, having moved in a few months after it had happened. It had been her mother's doing, really. Angela Rizzoli had pushed and pushed for Jane to leave her old apartment building, somehow terrified that he would find her again. No matter how often Jane told her that he was safely locked away behind bars, Angela wasn't having any of it. She had dragged Jane out to go apartment hunting more times than she cared to remember and eventually she had settled for this relatively new build complex in Charlestown. Her apartment overlooked the relatively quiet street and the large windows let in plenty of daylight during those rare moments she was home to enjoy it.

She leant back and slowly her eyes fluttered shut as her body gave in to the tiredness and lack of sleep after a busy day. She sank a little deeper into the comfortable cushions of her couch and focused on the steady beating of her heart in her chest. She placed her hands flat on the soft material of her couch, palms facing down and scars facing up. Unexpectedly her nails dug into the fabric, her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright. Brown eyes had filled with fear and darted around the room in suspicion. She remembered _tha_t night again.

The night that had changed everything, her whole life. The memories came out of nowhere, like they did most times. She couldn't control them but she couldn't stop them either. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead as she felt her pulse accelerate. Images flashed before her eyes and the pain in her hands overwhelmed her. She folded them in her lap, rubbing them together to try and get rid of the discomfort. She could smell him. She could see his face so close to hers that his lips brushed against her skin. She heard his voice in the back of her head, like a haunting echo. The way he drawled her name when he spoke_. __Jaaaaane_. She remembered the light reflecting on the blade and catching a glimpse of her own fear in the reflection, seeing her own eyes wide with horror.

"Fuck," Jane hissed through her teeth as she stared down at her hands. The scars sat against her skin and she closed her eyes in an attempt to rid herself of the memories, to rid herself of him. Charles Hoyt. He was the monster that had crept under her skin.

Without thinking she stood up, grabbed her keys of the counter and put on her running shoes. She slammed the door shut behind her as she left her apartment and began making her way down the two flights of the stairs to the building's main entrance. Once outside she breathed in the fresh evening air. It was still warm but the temperature had dropped significantly since the sun had set. She glanced down the road to make sure no one else was there before starting to run across the sidewalk towards the nearest park. She had to get rid of him, she had to force him out of her head and Jane Rizzoli only knew one way of doing that. By pushing herself to the ultimate limit until she could barely stand it anymore. Only then, in those rare moments, did she feel free.

When Joe came to deliver her double pepperoni and extra cheese pizza, no one answered the door.

~()~

Jane walked into the Homicide department the next morning and made a beeline to her work station. She put down her fresh coffee down on the corner of her desk, switched on her computer and only then did she realise there was a file lying on top of a small stash of papers she had left behind the previous night. She recognised the Medical Examiner's logo on the front and slipped into her chair before opening the report. Most of it was printed black on white but she quickly observed Maura Isles' handwriting on some of the notes. It was neat and tidy, with round and curvy letters. It was loads better than the messy scripture Dr Tierney, Maura Isles' predecessor, had called writing.

Most of it she had already seen and heard in the morgue the previous day but her attention was drawn to the mention of the six stab wounds across Jane Doe's chest. She was still studying the pattern of the wounds when the door to the department opened again and Frost and Korsak came in. The latter was carrying a box of pastries and held it in front of Jane's nose, encouraging her to pick one. After having eaten two slices of cold pizza the day before and a few sips of coffee this morning, Jane was starving and she took two pastries out of the box and smiled at Korsak.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," the older detective answered and studied Jane's face. "You look like hell. Sleep ok?"

"Like a baby," Jane lied without making eye contact. The run had helped her to get rid of Hoyt's memory, at least for a little while. Like most nights she had woken up several times, surrounded by the pitch black darkness of her bedroom and looked around nervously before glancing at the alarm clock on her bedside table.

"We've got a hit!" Frost called from the other end of the room and Jane almost knocked over her coffee in the rush to reach him. She walked around her partner's desk and leant over his shoulder to look at the computer screen. She felt a sense of shock as she recognised the woman in the picture. It was their Jane Doe, looking a lot better than she had done the last time Jane saw her. She was wearing a small amount of make-up to accent her full lips and Jane was drawn to the striking green eyes. The auburn hair looked like it was held back in a simple ponytail.

"Her name is Vicky Lynch, twenty three years old," Frost said as he studied the picture. "Driver's license was issued here in Boston." He opened up another screen, typed in the name of their victim and her information appeared. "Lives in Allston and…" He clicked on another section. "…works in a bar called Nirvana on Brighton Avenue."

"It's a decent journey from Alston to South Boston," Jane said slowly and brushed her fingers through her hair. "Let's check out the bar and see if anyone knows how or why she wold have ended up on the opposite side of town."

She turned around and her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she discovered Maura Isles walking through the doors of the Homicide Department. The medical examiner's eyes scanned the room and came to a rest on Jane, a smile playing around her lips. She crossed the distance between herself and the detective.

"Good morning, Jane," she smiled.

Jane found herself smiling too. "Morning."

"Did you get my report?" Maura questioned. Her eyes darted across the room and she spotted the file on Jane's desk. "Ah, I see you did. Did you see the attachment about the necklace I added?"

"The necklace?" Jane frowned. She walked back to her desk and Maura followed her. She picked up the file, flicked through it and took out the last page. A picture had been attached to it and she recognised it as the pendant she had found next to Vicky Lynch's body. She looked up and met the medical examiner's eyes. "Didn't you say it was Swarovski?"

"Yes," Maura answered and there was a hint of appreciation in her voice. "When I studied the pendant more closely I found the characteristic swan hallmark on the back, but even without it I was quite distinguishable. Swarovski jewellery is in quite a league of its own. The company was originally started by Daniel Swarovski, a glass cutter from what is now the Czech Republic, in Europe, but was known as Bohemia, back in the day."

"Do we know where she could have bought this?" Jane asked and studied the picture more closely. "I mean, she wasn't wearing anything else other than this. I wonder if it meant anything to the killer."

"There are several stores in Boston that sell this type of jewellery," Maura said and Jane looked up. "The chances of this piece being part of a larger collection are quite significant. I wasn't able to date it precisely but judging from the condition of the gold, I'd say she couldn't have worn it for longer than a few months."

Jane frowned. "How come you know so much about this?"

"Oh, I like to study things," Maura answered as a slight blush spread across her cheeks. "I thought that perhaps it could be of use. Have you managed to identify Jane Doe?"

Jane nodded. "Her name is Vicky Lynch."

"That sounds Irish," Maura said.

Jane put the picture of the necklace down. "Well, Boston does have a large Irish community."

"She has red hair, has she not?" Maura asked and Jane nodded, not quite sure what Vicky Lynch's hair colour had to do with her being Irish or not. Maura looked at Jane. "Red hair is often considered to be an Irish trait. It is rare and only occurs in one to two per cent of the human population though it occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, which is about two to six per cent. After Scotland, Ireland has the second highest percentage of people with red hair."

Jane stared at the honey blonde medical examiner in a mixture of shock and amusement. She wasn't sure whether to smile or make a sarcastic comment but as she studied Maura's genuine expression she decided to choose the safe middle path and replied with a simple, "Thank you."

"You wanna go check out her house?" Frost said as he pushed his chair backwards and looked at Jane. "I'll drive."

Jane eyed her partner up. "No way am I letting you drive. We wouldn't make it to the end of the street."

Frost snatched the keys off his desk before Jane could reach for them and grinned in amusement. "Yeah well if I let _you_ drive we won't even making it out of the parking lot."

Jane looked at Korsak. "Did we get anywhere with the people living in those apartment blocks where Vicki Lynch was found?"

He shook his head. "We spoke to most of them. No one saw or heard anything and no one recognised her either. There are a couple of folks we haven't spoken to yet but I'm going back later this morning. I got the addresses of their work places."

"Take Crowe," Jane said and pointed at the dark haired detective sitting a little further up. He was everyone's least favourite person in Homicide and they all tried to avoid working with him. He was a pompous and arrogant son of a bitch, still stuck in the mind-set that women belonged in kitchens and not in the police force. When Jane had first started working Homicide he had done everything in his power to antagonise her. She had fallen for it at first but since then she had toughened up but it wasn't until Hoyt that Crowe had stopped pestering her. Just like everyone else he pitied her. She resented him for it.

"Oh, please not Crowe," Korsak groaned. "I'd rather hang out with Ted Bundy!"

"Maybe you should do a Bundy on him," Frost joked and Jane chuckled. "You'd do the world a favour."

"Come on, Frost," Jane said. "Let's get out of here before we have to arrest Korsak for murder." She turned to look at Maura. She felt that unexpected sensation again, deep in the pit of her stomach. That sudden backflip that send a warm tingling feeling down to her toes. She clenched her fists and relaxed them slowly as she caught the medical examiner's gaze. "Thanks for the report, Maura. If we find anything in Vicki Lynch's house, I'll drop it by your lab, allright?"

"Sure," Maura answered with a smile. "I'll see you later?"

"Oh, I noticed the toxicology wasn't in the report yet," Jane began and Maura nodded.

"The results should be in later today."

"Call me when you get them?" Jane asked. "I'd like to know if the killer drugged her before he killed her."

Maura nodded and watched as Jane and Frost left the department. She turned to look at Korsak who was now making his way to his own desk and cocked her head. She gave him a quizzical look as she followed him and stopped in front of his work station. "Detective Korsak, what happened to Jane's hands?"

He looked up, surprised. "What did you say?"

"Her hands," Maura said and pointed at the door through which Jane had just disappeared. "She keeps hiding them in her pockets. What happened?"

Korsak looked away and started shuffling his papers around on his desk. "You'll, errr, you'll have to ask Jane about that, doc." He glanced at the medical examiner and noticed the curiosity in her eyes. "It isn't my place to tell."

Maura nodded but didn't seem taken aback. "Okay. I understand. Sorry I asked."

"Anything else I can do for you?" Korsak asked.

"No, I think I've got it covered," Maura answered and smiled. "Thank you." She turned away and made her way across the department. The sound of her heels clicking on the lino flooring echoed around the room as she left and Korsak watched her go. He ruffled his hair as she saw Maura disappear through the same doors Jane had left through minutes earlier.

"Oh boy," he sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. "If she starts asking questions, Jane is not going to be happy."

~()~

Vicky Lynch owned a tiny apartment in Alston. Jane and Frost got the key of the grubby looking landlord and Jane made a mental note to send a tip to Narcotics to check him out. She had seen plenty of dilated pupils in her lifetime to know when a person was high and not only were this dude's pupils the size of dinner plates, she could smell the weed on him from across the street.

She stuck the key in the door, turned the lock and stepped into the apartment. The first thing she noticed was the distinct hint of incense lingering in the room. She turned to look at Frost. "You smell that?"

"Kinda hard to miss."

"It's like stepping into one of those new age shops," Jane chuckled.

Her eyes wandered around the small living area. The walls were painted in a dark shade of burgundy and covered with a variety of alternative pictures, some advertising music festivals like Woodstock whilst others were aimed to provoke peace from within. In the corner of the room, on a dark wooden table, stood a Buddha statue surrounded by half burnt candles and dried flowers. The white fabric sofa was covered with bright coloured blankets and decorated pillows. A narrow bookcase stood against one of the wall and Frost let his finger trail along some of the titles.

"Yoga, meditation, Buddhism," he said as he turned to Jane. "Looks like Vicky was quite the spiritual being."

"Look at this," Jane said as she picked up a photo frame from the window sill and showed it to Frost. "This is our victim. Doesn't quite look the same, right?"

"Not quite," Frost said as he studied the picture. Vicky Lynch stood flanked by another woman with short cropped blonde hair. Her burgundy hair fell down her shoulders in messy looking dreadlocks and decorated with wild flowers. She wore a floral shirt and a black skirt and Jane saw the silver nose ring and the beaded necklace. A frown appeared on her face.

"She didn't have that nose ring when we found her," she said as she tapped her finger against the frame. "And she definitely didn't have those dreadlocks either."

"She doesn't strike me as the type to wear a Swarovski necklace," Frost said as he looked around. "I mean, look at this place. She's all into the natural stuff. Somehow she doesn't seem like the girl who would wear something like that." He walked away from Jane towards the small kitchen and opened the fridge. "Yep, tofu, soy milk and a whole lot of fruit and veg. Ten bucks says she was a vegan."

"Maura found salmon in her stomach," Jane said as she put the picture down. "If she was a vegan, she wouldn't have eaten fish." She looked at the only door in the room. "Let's check the bedroom."

The bedroom was decorated in a similar style as the living room, with dark red walls and simple black bed sheets. Another Buddha statue stood on a small table and Jane found the source of the strong incense smell. A narrow wooden tray stood on the bedside table and the ashes told her that someone had burnt something here at some stage. She opened the drawers of the bedside table and rummaged through their contents. She didn't find anything out of the ordinary and continued into the bathroom. A quick glance at the shower gels and shampoo told her they were of some natural vegan friendly brand. As she opened the medicine cabinet she found a toothbrush, some tooth paste but nothing else that seemed out of place or disturbed. Frost appeared in the doorway holding a small plastic bag. Jane saw him in the mirror and turned around.

"What's that?"

"Cell phone," he answered as he held up the bag. "Battery's dead. I'll have to take it back to the station and try and get it to work. See if it has anything useful on it."

Jane looked around the bathroom one last time. "So our girl is a health freak, a vegan and into yoga. Nothing looks disturbed or out of place. There are no signs of a struggle but the picture in the window sill tells us that she looked different from the way we found her." She frowned. "Do you know what dreadlocks does to the human hair?"

"Sounds like something you should ask the good doctor," Frost said with a grin.

Jane nodded and couldn't suppress a smile. "I will."

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****Reviews are like chocolate. I am addicted to both. ****


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Thank you all so far. Some of you mentioned an actual Jane and Maura scene together. I hope this is what you had in mind. I am trying to update fairly quickly for this story right now as the next two weeks are going to be insane and I don't know when or if I'll get a chance to update. I am glad so many of you are enjoying this story. There are a few very interesting things ahead and in the next chapter or two we'll get to meet the awesome Angela Rizzoli, and so does Maura... ;-)**  
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**Chapter 4**

Maura enjoyed the quietness of her morgue. She wasn't used to having a lot of people around her and she felt a little unnerved by the busy corridors and the abundance of people in BPD. She hadn't noticed the people looking at her whenever she walked past and neither had she heard the whispers that followed her as she walked through the hallways and stepped into the elevator. The officers seemed surprised by her presence and, as most people would be, they were unsettled by the idea she chose to surround herself with death. The thing was that death was the only thing Maura really understood.

She finished putting her instruments in their respective drawers and had checked her supplies before tomorrow's order would come in and was just about to leave to get some coffee when the soft beeping noise of the fax machine alerted her to an incoming message. She didn't' bother taking off her white lab coat and quickly stepped into her small but brightly lit office. She pulled the piece of paper from the machine and anxiously turned it over, her eyes scanning the results. She felt a wave of excitement rush through her veins and reached for the phone on her desk.

She pressed one of the buttons as she realised she didn't know the number of the person she was trying to call and waited for the operator to answer on the other side of the line. "This is Chief Medical Examiner Maura Isles. Could you pass me through to Detective Jane Rizzoli, please?"

The operator acknowledged her request and then there was a silence. She waited for someone to answer on the other side of the line and felt her heart jump when the recognised the Italian detective's voice. "Rizzoli."

"Jane, it's me. I got the toxicology results back for Vicky Lynch."

"Anything interesting?"

"Two things, actually," Maura said as she fixed her gaze back on the paper. "The blood tests confirmed traces of Flunitrazepam."

"That doesn't sound good."

Maura shook her head although there was no one there to see her. "It's also known as Rohypnol, Jane."

"Isn't that a date rape drug?" Jane asked on the other side. Maura could hear the vague sounds of traffic in the background and she guessed that the other woman was driving.

"Flunitrazepam was originally created as an anticonvulsant or sedative," Maura explained. "It is highly potent and it can cause severe amnesia but there is not enough strong evidence to suggest that it actually being used as a date rape drug."

"But it is a sedative?" Jane pushed, ignoring Maura's comment about there being little proof that Rohypnol was indeed a rape drug or not.

"Yes," Maura confirmed. "And when it comes into contact with alcohol it becomes highly toxic and can be lethal."

"So the killer slipped her a roofie," Jane concluded. "How do you reckon it got into her system?"

"Urine samples confirmed the presence of the drug too which suggests that she digested it," Maura said. "Most likely it was put in her drink at some point."

"How long does the drug stay in a person's system?"

"Traces of Rohypnol have been found in urine samples as long as five days after the drug was administered but the levels in this sample were so high that I suspect that it was ingested mere hours before her death," Maura said. "Estimated time of death was about 12 hours before the body was discovered. The killer must have held on to her body somewhere before disposing of it in that street."

"We're on our way to the bar where she worked," Jane said. "So far we haven't found anyone who can give us some form of timeline. She was dumped after 2 am but before 5 am. That is a very small time frame for anyone to drive down a residential street, pose a naked body and leave without being seen. Time also suggests that she was killed sometime that afternoon or earlier that morning. Explains why her landlord never saw her come home after work."

"That's not the only thing I found in her blood, Jane," Maura said. "I found traces of alcohol. Like I said, Rohypnol becomes toxic when fused with alcohol."

"Sounds more and more like we need to have a look at that bar," Jane said slowly. "Did you find out what exactly was in her stomach?"

"Salmon, salad, asparagus and strawberries and red wine," Maura said and she sat down in her chair as she ran her fingers through her hair. Jane's voice was strangely soothing to listen to, she found. The slightly husky tone stirred something deep inside Maura's stomach, something she couldn't quite put her finger on right at this moment. She leant back and briefly allowed her eyes to close. "Sounds like salad with fruit for dessert to me."

"Except for the fact that Vicky Lynch was a vegan."

"Oh!" Maura sat up with her jolt. "She would never have eaten the fish. It would also explain the condition of her internal organs. Apart from her heart they were all in remarkable good condition with very little traces of fat. I should have suspected she lived off a vegan diet."

"So we have a killer who drugs his victims with a date rape drug and then serves them a fish salad with fruit and wine," Jane said slowly. "And then he stabbed her to death. No apparent motive, no apparent cause. So far no one we have come across knows anything about our victim or knows of a reason why she had to die. Let's hope they know a little bit more at that bar she worked at." She paused and Maura heard her say something to Frost she didn't quite catch. "We're here now. I'll come see you when we get back. Thanks, Maura."

"You're welcome," Maura answered and with a soft 'click' the line died. She put down the phone, picked up the piece of paper and studied it once again. The results were surprising to say the least and she furrowed her brow as she tried to rake her brain as to why a killer would go through the trouble of feeding his victim.

~()~

Jane slammed the car door behind her and crossed the sidewalk to the entrance of the bar. From the outside it looked plain and simple, with a dark purple banner with yellow writing spelling 'Nirvana.' Simple white lanterns decorated the front porch of the building and wooden lounge chairs and tables were decorated with flowers. Jane gave Frost a knowing look as she opened the door and stepped inside. They were greeted by soft, almost entrancing music and Jane's eyes had to adapt to the dimly lit room. Several lounging arm chairs stood scattered around the room and against the longest wall Jane spotted the bar. A blonde woman was busy stacking glasses and reorganising bottles when she became aware of the two visitors.

"Sorry, we're closed," she smiled. "I'm afraid you'll have to come back another time."

"I think we'll rather do it now," Jane said as she flashed her badge. The woman blinked in shock. "Detectives Rizzoli and Frost, Boston Homicide. We'd like to ask you some questions, if that's allright?"

"Sure," the woman stammered. "Shall we, errr, take a seat? I can get you a drink if you like?"

Jane and Frost politely declined and the blonde walked around the bar to join the two detectives and pointed at some of the comfortable looking chairs. When Jane sat down she was surprised that they didn't just look comfortable, they actually were comfortable. She leant back, allowing some of the tension to seep from her body. She folded her hands in her lap, scars facing down, and fixed her gaze on the blonde woman's face. Her hair was cropped short till just above her ears in a trendy and spikey coupe. She wore a silver nose ring and a stud in her lip and Jane noticed the flower pattern of tattoo's on her hand winding its way up to her wrist. She was dressed in a short, black skirt with ripped pink tights, bright green Doc Martins and a simple white tank top.

"What's your name?" Frost asked as he opened his notebook.

"Katherine Anderson, but everyone calls me Kat," the blonde answered. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Jane and her bottom lip quivered. "Is this about Vicky? Have you found her?"

"Vicky Lynch?" Jane asked and Kat nodded in affirmation. She gave Frost a quick look and he nodded that he understood what she was trying to do. Gain information first before delivering the painful news. "She's missing?"

"She was supposed to show up for the work night before last but never did," Kat answered and Jane recognised the hopelessness in her eyes. "I was a little pissed because it was my night off and they called me in. I tried calling her but she never answered. I left about ten messages on her voicemail but she didn't return any of my calls. First I thought she'd just, you know, decided she didn't' want to work anymore but then I got worried."

"It wasn't like her not to return your calls?" Frost asked.

"You kidding? Vicky was practically attached to her cell," Kat answered.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Jane asked.

"Tuesday morning. We went to yoga together. I suggested going for dinner but she said she wanted to go home and catch some more sleep before going to work," Kat answered. Her eyes darted from Jane to Frost and back. "What's with all the questions? Did you find her? Did something happen to her?"

"I'm afraid Vicky's dead," Jane said softly and leant across the small table separating her from Kat and her hand moved protectively over the other woman's. Silent tears began to stream down the blonde's face and Jane softly squeezed her hand. "Her body was found on Thursday in South Boston."

"Oh my God," Kat whispered through her tears and covered her face with her hands. Her sobs grew louder. "What happened?"

"Someone attacked her," Jane answered and kept her eyes fixed on Kat. Slowly the blonde lifted her head up from her hands. Her mascara had stained her face and black coloured tears trickled down her skin. "I'm sorry to tell you that she was stabbed. Kat, can you think of any reason why Vicky would have been in South Boston?"

Kat shook her head. "No. She barely knew anyone here."

"You mean she wasn't from Boston?" Frost asked and the blonde woman nodded.

"She was born and raised somewhere in Kansas, I think. She moved to Boston about a year ago. She never really told me why but she did sort of say that she and her folks didn't really get on. They were religious, I think. Vicky said that when she moved to Boston, she cut all ties with them. Her friends were her family."

"We found a picture in Vicky's apartment of her and another woman," Jane said and Kat nodded. "You know who she is?"

"Her name is Dana. I am not sure about her last name. I think she and Vicky may have been lovers at some point. Whenever I came round, Dana was there but the last few weeks I didn't see her. Vicky didn't talk about her anymore like she used to. She even took out her dreads. She swore that once she got them, she was never going to get rid of them. Dana had talked her into getting them. She was so proud of them. When she got rid of them I knew something had happened between them." Kat nervously played with her hands. "I don't have many friends here in Boston, detective Rizzoli. Vicky was the closes thing to a best friend I ever had in my life. What can I do to help?"

Jane felt her heart break in her chest for this young blonde woman and she tried to send her an encouraging smile. "Stay strong. That's what Vicky would want you to do. Apart from you and Dana, did Vicky have any other friends she may have hung out with? What was she like with strangers? Friendly, shy?"

"She was quite friendly. When she started working here a few months ago we hit it off straight away. She was quite laid back and had this chilled out attitude to life, you know?" Kat answered. "Have you managed to contact her parents yet?"

"No, not yet. Did you say they live in Kansas?" Jane asked. "Do you know their names?"

Kat shook her head. "Vicky didn't like to talk about them but I think they have a right to know, don't you think?"

In her line of work Jane had come across every screwed up aspect of family life. From families who didn't talk to each other at all and who hated each other to the very core to those who were so protective that they smothered their loved ones, practically killing them with love. She had seen children kill their parents and parents kill their children. She had seen brothers kill their sisters and grandparents murder their grandchildren. There was nothing as complicated and strange as family ties, Jane thought. She had long ago lost faith that 'the perfect family' existed. There was no such thing.

"We'll do our best to find them," Frost promised and looked at Jane. They had gathered enough information to help them in their investigation and slowly he stood up. Jane's hand slipped from Kat's and she stood up too. The blonde looked up at the two detectives and a sad smile spread across her tear stained face.

"Vicky used to call herself 'Dorothy' for fun sometimes," she said with a tiny little voice. She suppressed a sob as Jane arched an eyebrow in question. "She said that she wasn't in Kansas anymore…"

Jane turned to Frost and slowly they walked out of the bar. "If she had stayed in Kansas, she would still be alive. Her yellow brick road came to an unexpected end."

~()~

Jane found Maura in the morgue and the honey blonde medical examiner turned around when she heard the detective walk in. She had just been about to perform another autopsy on a man who had been brought in after collapsing on the corner of a street. Paramedics suspected an overdose and it was up to Maura to find out if they were right. She removed her gloves and her scrubs and led Jane into her office. Jane sat down on the simple couch that was lined up against the wall and Maura sat down in the matching arm chair. She eyed the detective up in curiosity and registered the dark circles around her eyes.

"You have periorbital dark circles," Maura said as she pointed at Jane's face. The detective flinched.

"I have _what_?"

"Dark circles under your eyes," Maura said. "It is usually a sign of fatigue. Are you sleeping allright?"

"Who told you it was allright to go round diagnosing people?" Jane answered defensively and rolled her eyes. "It's tiring being a detective."

"You should sleep more," Maura said with a straight face. "Did you find anything on our victim?"

"She was supposed to show up for work on Tuesday night. Her friend saw her around noon that day but after that there isn't a trace of her. She must have crossed her killer's path sometime after that lunch date," Jane said and folded her hands in her lap. When she looked at Maura she noticed that the medical examiner had been staring at her hands. "What?"

"Your hands," Maura said. "What happened to them?"

"What do you mean?" Jane quickly answered. "Nothing happened to them."

Maura saw the obvious signs of the lie written across the detective's face but didn't say anything. Instead she took a deep breath. "Time of disappearance matches the estimated time of death. I tried finding a restaurant in Boston that serves the exact meal that was served to Vicky but I couldn't find anything."

"You actually tried to find it?" Jane asked in disbelief. "I don't even want to know how."

"I Googled it," Maura answered. "It's really quite simple."

Jane peered at the medical examiner through her eyelashes. Maura Isles was unlike anybody else she had ever come across, she had to admit. She was intelligent and somewhat quirky, Jane thought, though the way in which she directed her questions at Jane was a little irritating. The one other thing she had noticed about Maura was her dress sense. Today she was wearing another dress. This time it was light blue and hugged her curves in all the right places. The V shaped neck allowed for a hint of cleavage, something that was only accentuated by the delicate silver chain with diamond studded pendant that hung around Maura's neck. Her honey blonde hair delicately framed her face and Jane noticed how the colour of Maura's hair somehow brought out the beauty of her eyes. Her gaze lingered a little longer on the beautifully sculptured cheekbones, the fine arch of Maura's eyebrows and the soft curve in her lips.

"You fancy a drink?" Jane then asked bluntly.

Maura blinked in surprise. "Come again?"

"Whenever I feel like I need to refresh my mind, I grab a drink at the Dirty Robber, the bar down the road," Jane explained. It had been her hang out for years but she had stopped going for a while. Whenever she set foot in the place all eyes would fix on her. Too many times she had stood in the door, the cold metal of the handle still in her hand, and she had turned away, unable to face those prying eyes. Only recently had she found the strength to go back in. They still stared sometimes, trying to catch a glimpse of the scars on her hands as if she was some circus freak show. She just didn't care anymore. Her eyes found Maura's and she smiled. "It's a cop bar, Maura."

Maura seemed somewhat puzzled and surveyed the detective carefully. "I don't drink when I'm working, Jane."

"Neither do I," Jane said as she stood up. "It's why they invented alcohol free beer."

~()~

The Robber was practically empty when they walked in and Jane's eye fell on her favourite booth. It was empty and she slipped into the seat she had come to call her own. Maura sat down across from her, placing her hands on the table. Jane kept hers in her lap, aware that being so close to the medical examiner it was likely she would see the scars. She didn't know why she didn't tell Maura. Maybe it was because Maura was the only person who hadn't been there when it happened. Somehow it felt safe to know that someone for once didn't pity her.

"I'll order us some drinks," Jane said with a little smile and pushed herself out of her seat to walk up to the bar. In the evenings there would be table service but in the daytime every visitor had to earn their drinks by at least walking up to the bar.

Maura watched the detective's slender frame as she walked across the room. Jane was tall and even though her black blazer hid most of it, Maura could tell that her muscles were well toned. Jane Rizzoli had the figure of a runner, Maura noticed. The coarse black curls fell like unruly manes down her back, caressing her lightly tanned face. Maura had seen the dimples in the Italian woman's cheeks as she smiled and had been struck by the depths of her dark brown eyes. Though Jane masked her softer side well behind her tough cop attitude, Maura had caught minute glimpses of the tall woman's softer side, something she knew Jane would never admit to. Her gaze lingered on the other woman's well trained figure as she leant across the bar to say something to the bartender. As she studied the detective, Maura felt her insides glow. She quickly averted her eyes and fixed them on the scratched table surface as the warm blush spread across her cheeks.

By the time Jane returned Maura was shifting uncomfortably in her seat and accepted her drink with a tiny smile. She sniffed the content of her glass only to realise it was cranberry juice. She looked up in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I'm a detective," Jane grinned mischievously. "It's what I do. I detect things."

Maura took a sip from her drink and felt how the warm flush slowly began to fade. "So do you hang in here often?"

Jane chuckled at the slip. "It's hang _out,_ Maura, but yes, I do come here quite often. Usually with Korsak and Frost."

"Have you been partners long?" Maura asked. "You and Frost, I mean?"

"A few months," Jane answered neutrally. She made sure to pick her glass up in a way that Maura could not see the scars. "I used to be partners with Korsak before."

"Really?" Maura seemed genuinely interested. "What made you change? I thought partnerships got stronger with the years?"

"Something happened." Jane chewed her bottom lip and glanced out of the window. She was about to say something else when the buzzing of her cell phone disturbed her trail of thoughts. She unclipped it from her belt, checked the caller ID and then answered. "Hey Frost." Her dark eyes found Maura's as her partner's voice on the other side brought across a worrying message.

"You'd better get back here, Jane. We've got a serious problem."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **So, here's another big clue about the case, we get to meet Angela Rizzoli and Jane visits Maura's house. Within this chapter there are some little hints about Maura, especially towards the end, that Jane is picking up on. One of the anonymous reviewers asked for me to show more of Maura struggling with herself. It is something I am introducing gradually, as it's something that is not as 'in your face' as Jane dealing with the aftermath of Hoyt. Maura's vulnerability will show during her time together with Jane in the chapters still to come and also, I think Maura personally wouldn't really be aware of how socially awkward she can be. It is more other people's perceptions of her that cause that but the alienation and the loneliness is something I am trying to capture more and more in future parts. I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. ~Cissy**  
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* * *

**Chapter 5**

Jane and Maura met up with Korsak and Frost back at Homicide. As they walked through the door Jane could sense a palpable tension in the room and noticed how different sets of eyes first looked her way before averting their gazes. It felt like she walked back to her desk for the very first time after the incident with Hoyt and everyone had stared at her. She swallowed hard and forced herself to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling before crossing the length of the room towards the other two detectives.

"Jane." Korsak said her name in that tone she knew so well. The tone that predicted trouble. When she met his eyes and registered the concern she felt her stomach drop. Whatever it was that they were about to be told, it wasn't going to be good.

"What is it?" Jane asked and only then did she realise she had been holding her breath. She released it with a weary sigh and eyed up Frost. He sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen. Korsak jerked his head towards it and she walked up to her partner and looked over his shoulder. As she did so she became aware of Maura standing closely, too closely, behind her. She could practically feel the medical examiner's breath in her neck.

"As we have little to nothing to go on in this case, I decided to put the crime details into the National Crime Information Centre," Frost said slowly and typed something into the computer and the opening page for the FBI controlled programme appeared. Jane had used it only a handful of times in the past when they were trying to trace a killer or possible suspect. Though controlled by the FBI, local law enforcement had use of the NCIC too. She furrowed her brow.

"We had no real reason to be looking in there," she said. "What made you do it?"

Frost looked up. "A hunch."

Jane knew better than to argue with that statement. She had lost count of the number of times where she had relied on her own gut instinct to solve her cases. She wasn't particularly popular because of it and some would say that what had happened to her was a result of her recklessness but Jane knew there was nothing she could rely on more than her own instincts.

"Anyway, as I was putting the information in, something else came up," Frost said and he moved his mouse. Jane watched as in the bottom right corner a small window appeared. Black capital letters spelled 'match found'. Before she could ask Frost to click on it, he had moved the cursor over it, double clicked his mouse and Jane watched how the screen changed.

"Cold Case?" she breathed. Behind her, Maura moved.

"Typically, cold cases are violent or other felonies like murder or rape," the medical examiner said and Jane looked over her shoulder. "Cases like that are generally not subject to a statute of limitation though many of the so called 'cold cases' are in fact not cold at all."

"So what about this one?" Jane asked as she looked back at Frost.

"This is where it gets interesting, especially since the good doctor just mentioned the statute of limitation," Frost said. He clicked on his mouse a few times and Jane watched as several pictures began to appear across the screen. The scene was messy, she noticed but what stood out more than anything was the body of a woman lying sprawled out on her back, her arms folded beside her but legs slightly apart. Dried blood caked her face and the dark purple bruises sat prominently against her pale skinned legs. She was naked and exposed and Jane's eye was drawn to the pattern of stab wounds across the victim's chest. She counted six and felt an uneasy feeling creep up on her. Red strands of hair had fallen into the victim's eyes.

"What the hell?" she breathed as the first picture was replaced by a second one. The scene was similar and the body had been posed in an almost identical manner. This one was naked too, exposed for the world to see. The woman had a similar shade of red hair and the by now familiar pattern of six stab wounds across the chest. Another picture. Another crime scene, another body. "How many are there?"

"Six in total," Frost answered solemnly. "All with red hair and all with the same six stab wounds."

"Something's different here," Maura said and pointed at the screen. "The pixilation in the pictures indicates that these crime scene photos were taken quite some time ago." She glanced at Frost. "Most likely as early as the mid-seventies."

"You're kidding right?" Jane's eyes snapped in her partner's direction. Frost shook his head. "You telling me these pictures are thirty years old?"

"Fall of '76 to spring of '77," Frost said as he organised the six pictures across the screen. Jane was stunned by the likeness in the six different scenes compared to the crime scene she had encountered the day before. Though not propped up against trash bags, the bodies had been meticulously posed and Vicky Lynch could have been any of these women's sister. "New York City."

"Really?" Jane ran her fingers through her hair. "New York City?" She shook her head. "What the hell is going on here?"

"We've got a copycat," Korsak said.

"Some copycat," Jane replied, not masking that she doubted the older detective's theory. She turned to look at him. "The detail is frightening, Korsak. And who copies a murder that was committed over thirty years ago?"

"Is the case still under investigation?" Maura questioned.

"Cold Case unit in New York City has the case on a shelf somewhere," Frost said as he continued clicking through pages of information. "We're lucky this case is even on the system. Many unsolved cases from this far back haven't even been digitalised yet. I think because they were dealing with a serial killer they archived this one. You never know what might you find several decades later."

"You think we should give them a call?" Korsak wondered out loud.

Jane leant against Frost's desk as her mind was going into overdrive. From the depths of her mind she dug up all the information she had once studied when it came to serial killers. It had become somewhat of an obsession whilst she had been sitting at home. "Most serial killers are white males in their mid-to-late twenties and early thirties. Assuming this was the case with this killer, it would mean that he'd have to be in his sixties by now." She shook her head. "There is no way that a man in his sixties could overpower someone like Vicky Lynch. Whoever committed those murders in New York, they can't have done the same in Boston."

"And if they had, why would they wait thirty years before doing it again?" Maura asked. "Did any other cases come up that matched this MO?"

Frost shook his head. "Nothing."

"We only have one body," Jane said slowly. "What are the odds of this just being a twisted coincidence?"

Maura piped up. "I don't believe in coincidences."

"Neither do I," Korsak agreed. "Something isn't right here, Jane, and you know it. Maybe you should give the Cold Case unit in New York a call, see what they have to say."

"I have a better idea," Jane said and her dark brown eyes lit up. "I'll go see them, read the files for myself."

"What?" Frost blinked. "You're going to New York?"

She shrugged. "Why not? Crowe flew to Los Angeles when his case seemed to have a lead there three months ago and that's the other side of the country. New York's only a few hours away," Jane said and turned back to look at the computer screen. "Might as well rule out once and for all whether we have a copycat, an ancient serial killer or just a bad twist of fate."

"I'll come with you," Maura said unexpectedly and Jane's head snapped around to look at the honey blonde medical examiner. "I might be able to help you with some of the old medical reports. Technology back then wasn't as advanced as it is now. Maybe I'll be able to do some extra testing while we're there."

Jane seemed hesitant to accept the other woman's officer but Korsak was quick to make the decision. Observing the dark look in the Italian woman's eyes, he took a step forward. "Sounds like a plan to me. I think Doctor Isles' expertise could be very useful. I'll deal with the lieutenant. Why don't you two go home and grab some stuff? With a little luck we can get you to Logan before dinner."

Jane heaved a sigh and glanced at Frost. He seemed a little disappointed that the invitation didn't extend to him and she put a hand on his shoulder. "I need someone to hold the fort, Frost." She nudged at Korsak. "And keep an eye on him."

"Would you like me to drive you home to get your things?" Maura offered and Jane weakly smiled. "We can drive past my house on the way there."

For once the thought of not having to manoeuvre herself through Boston's horrific traffic sounded appealing and Jane nodded. "Sure," she answered meekly and pushed her hands into the pockets of her slacks. She noticed Maura was watching her and averted her gaze. "Come on. We'd better go."

~()~

Maura's Lexus was surprisingly comfortable, Jane had to admit. She hadn't expected the sports car to be this nice but she found that she was able to relax into the leather covered passenger's seat. The air conditioning was blowing the cold wind into her face and the radio played a tune she didn't recognise. The car was spotless on the inside, just like it was on the outside. Maura sat behind the wheel, holding it delicately in her hands and although they had been stationery for the past fifteen minutes, Jane had not heard her swear once. She and Maura had barely spoken to each other since they got in the car and Jane resisted the urge to turn up the volume of the radio just to cut the silence.

"Have you lived in Charlestown long?" Maura asked suddenly and took her eyes off the road to look at Jane. "I hear it is rather lovely."

Jane snorted. "Not as lovely as Beacon Hill, I expect."

Beacon Hill was a historic neighbourhood in Boston and was closely affiliated with the neighbouring Back Bay. Federal style row houses and brick sidewalks were a common sight in this part of Boston and it was generally considered to be the most desirable and most expensive neighbourhood in Boston. Looking at Maura Isles, Jane wasn't surprised when she found out where the medical examiner lived. Where else was a woman of such class supposed to reside?

"It is rather, yes," Maura said with a smile. "I only moved there a couple of weeks ago." She paused. "I haven't seen too much of Boston since I came back. The city has changed so much."

"You lived here before?" Jane asked, her curiosity suddenly triggered.

"I went to Boston University," Maura answered as the car slowly rolled forward through the traffic. "I completed my medical rotation and then decided I wanted to bring my skills to good use elsewhere in the world. After I finished medical school I did a lot of work in Africa."

Jane didn't know what to say to that. Suddenly she was reminded of her own simple life and upbringing. The oldest of three children, and the only girl, she had always been one of the boys. Unlike Maura she'd had no fancy education, no university degree. She was a cop and it was what she loved doing but the pay check she brought home every month would never buy her a house in Beacon Hill. She looked down into her lap, suddenly confronted with herself.

Maura gave the detective a sideways glance and noticed the unease written across her face. She wasn't sure what she had done to cause it but felt a sense of regret overwhelm her. She wasn't very good at this, talking to people she barely knew. In fact, she wasn't very good at talking to people at all. Not the live ones anyway. She looked back at the road in front of her and indicated right as she turned the wheel. They were almost in Charlestown. It was quicker to drive to Jane's house first before driving to hers and she had sensed the detective's eagerness to return to her apartment.

"Have you ever been to New York?" Jane asked, ending the uneasy silence between them.

"No," Maura answered honestly. "You?"

Jane shook her head. "I don't think I have ever left Massachusetts."

After another twenty minutes Maura found a parking space right outside Jane's building and switched off the engine. Jane unbuckled her belt, stepped out of the car and turned back around. Seeing Maura sitting with her hands in her lap, staring at the street ahead of her, she felt a sense of sadness. "Would you, errr, would you like to come in?"

Maura looked at Jane, her hazel eyes suddenly wide open and bright. "Are you sure?"

Jane nodded. "Just don't mind the mess."

When she opened the door to her apartment she silently scolded herself for not having thrown away the empty pizza box and beer bottles from the previous night but as she stepped inside she immediately noticed something had changed. For one, the box and bottles had disappeared. Her hand shot to the gun on her hip, unclipped it and with her free hand Jane grabbed hold of Maura's arm. The medical examiner froze, seemingly started by the sight of the gun, and Jane instinctively shielded the other woman with her body. A soft thud coming from the bedroom made Jane's head snap up. The next few seconds happened so quickly that Maura barely had time to blink.

Jane's gun shot up and aimed at a figure emerging from the bedroom. The figure let out a high pitched wail, raising their hands into the air and staggering backwards at the sight of the gun. Jane groaned in frustration as she lowered her gun. "MA!"

Maura looked past Jane to see a woman standing in the open doorway that led to the bedroom. She had dark hair, tied back in a simple ponytail, and was dressed in a purple and white checjed shirt and simple black jeans. Even without Jane's exclamation it wasn't hard to tell that this woman was related to the Italian detective. Maura recognised the familiar jawline, the dark hair and the dark eyes immediately. This woman was unmistakably Jane's mother.

"For God sake, Ma! I could have shot you!" Jane exclaimed as she stored her gun back in its holster. Her eyes snapped back up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Cleaning your apartment!" Angela Rizzoli countered, staring her daughter with wide eyes. "How could you call this place home, Jane? I found an inch thick layer of dust on your bedroom dresser." She cocked her head. "What are you doing home anyway? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Pop out today?" Jane retorted.

"He said he didn't need me," Angela sulked.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Neither do I."

"Jane, it appears to me that your mother is only trying to help," Maura said from behind the dark haired detective and Jane's head snapped around. She gave the medical examiner a dismissive glare.

"Stay out of this, Maura."

"Who's this?" Angela asked a little wearily as she eyed up the woman standing behind Jane. Reassured that this stranger wasn't holding a gun to her daughter's head, Angela's eyes fixed back on her daughter. "What are you doing home, Jane?"

"Ma, meet Doctor Maura Isles. Maura, meet my mother." Jane did the introductions and shook her head. "And I'm home because I need to pack some stuff for work. I'm going to New York for a couple of days," Jane said as she began crossing the living room towards where her mother stood. Angela's face lit up. "Don't look at me like that, Ma. It's _work_."

"But there will be some time for pleasure, right?" Angela asked as she followed her daughter into the bedroom. "I mean, you could go out and meet someone, right? A nice New Yorker who doesn't know you."

Jane turned around. "Why would I want a man from New York, Ma?"

"Because you scared all the ones in Boston away with your attitude."

The corners of Jane's mouth curled up into a smile as she picked up a small suitcase from the bottom of her closet before choosing some items of clothing to go in it. "Who said that scaring Bostonian men away is a bad thing? This city is full of idiots."

Maura watched the mother-daughter interaction from where she stood with great interest. She had detected Jane's dislike concerning her mother's presence but she also noted the amusement the detective found in teasing her. Slowly her eyes began to drift around the apartment and she walked across the room to the small bookcase that stood against the wall. She let her index finger dance across the variety of titles, varying from crime novels to a book about forensics. She picked up the picture that stood next to the small collection of book and immediately recognised Jane, flanked by two young men that were undoubtedly brothers. A smile graced Maura's lips as she saw the innocence in young Jane's eyes. That innocent was now hidden underneath a mask.

She continued to look around and found the painting that hung on the wall fascinating. She spend a few moments looking at it, taken in by the roughness of the brush that had created this piece. The colours depicted a sunset but it wasn't meant to be beautiful and calming, it was meant to be rough and thought provoking. Maura's gaze lingered for a little while on the dark red couch with the coloured pillows, the wooden coffee table with yesterday's news paper and a few outdated sport magazines and then she walked towards the shelf attached to the wall nearest to the kitchen. It was home to several photo frames and she didn't have to look hard to recognise Jane in what looked like a school picture.

"When will you be flying?" Angela's voice roused Maura from her thoughts and the medical examiner turned around to find mother and daughter leaving the bedroom. Jane was dragging a small suitcase on wheels behind her and the raven haired detective's eyes darted around the room to find Maura standing by the shelf. She could have sworn she saw a flash of hurt behind the other woman's eyes.

"Korsak said he'd try and get us on a flight leaving tonight," Jane said as she looked away from Maura. "We shouldn't be gone long. Just a couple of days."

"Will you be going too, Maura?" Angela asked and she nodded. "Jane said you're a doctor. What is it you do?"

"Autopsies," Maura said and didn't notice how Angela's face fell. "I am the Chief Medical Examiner."

"Oh."

"We gotta go, Ma," Jane said and Maura quickly walked to the door. She turned around and looked at Angela. She produced the most beautiful smile and exposed a set of near perfect teeth.

"It was nice meeting you, Mrs Rizzoli."

Angela smiled weakly. "And you, Doctor Isles."

Jane leant in and pecked her mother on the cheek. "Next time just call, Ma."

~()~

Maura's house was exactly what Jane had imagined. She followed the medical examiner inside and her gaze was drawn to the large lamp in the hallway, letting it bathe in golden light. It appeared to be triggered by a motion sensor because it was the middle of the day. Maura's floor was solid oak wood and Jane looked around as she followed the other woman further into the house. The walls were covered in some of the most magnificent pieces of art she had ever seen and when she stepped into the kitchen she felt the breath choke in the back of her throat. It was half the size of her apartment and had every appliance imaginable. The cupboards were made out of solid white wood and in the middle stood a cooking island. Maura left her handbag on the counter and turned around to Jane.

"Make yourself comfortable. I won't be long."

Jane leant against the marble counter top of the cooking island and let her eyes wander around. The first question that popped into her head was how Maura was able to afford this place. Not even a Chief Medical Examiner's pay check could pay for a place this grand. Slowly Jane walked out of the kitchen into the living room and let her hand slide over the back of the couch. The white fabric felt soft against her skin and she slowly sat down, feeling a little worried that she would leave dirt on the pristine covers. Maura's TV hung above a beautiful sculptured fire place and Jane found a book on blood analysis lying on the coffee table, as well as several home decorating magazines. Across the room stood a large dining table, with a total of eight multi coloured chairs and a beautiful chandelier above it. But the one thing she didn't see was pictures. As her eyes scanned the room and studied the framed pieces of art more closely she realised there was not a single picture of Maura or her family anywhere.

Maura appeared from down the hall, carrying a suitcase about the same size as Jane's with her. When she noticed the dark haired detective sitting on the couch she smiled. "I haven't really had a chance to make it feel like home yet."

"I think it's amazing," Jane said. "I would give my right hand for a place like this, Maura."

Maura averted her eyes and the smile that had graced her lips faltered. "I think we should go."

Jane detected the sudden change in the medical examiner's appearance and was about to ask what was wrong when Maura turned away from her and began walking to the front door. "I've had to leave some extra food down for Bass. I'm sure he's going to be allright for a little while." She turned around to see if Jane was following.

"Bass?" Jane asked. She had not detected a sign of any pet living in this house.

"You'll get to meet him some day," Maura smiled. "He's a little shy."

She opened the door and let the detective file past her. Just as she was about to close the door Jane turned around. Their gazes locked for a moment or two and they just stared at each other, lost for just a single second, and then Maura locked the door behind her. Jane walked her way back to Maura's Lexus and climbed into the passenger's seat as the doctor walked around the car and got in the other side. As Maura readjusted her rear view mirror Jane stole one last glance at the other woman and felt her stomach tighten. She was about to spend several days with a woman she barely knew but who brought out this strange physical reaction inside of her.

_Lord help me_, Jane thought. _I know I'm going to need it._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, folks. I am currently working on the theatrical trailer to go with this story. Enjoy!**  
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**Chapter 6**

It was busy at Logan International Airport and the Central Terminal Building was full of people making their ways to various passport check points or trying to get a seat in one of the bars and restaurants. Jane and Maura had checked in their suitcases for the six pm flight to New York's LaGuardia airport that evening and Jane was now following the medical examiner into one of the many restaurants. Maura seemed perfectly at ease being at the airport whereas Jane felt a sense of nervousness. She was in her thirties but had never been on a plane before. The thought of flying unnerved her somehow and she didn't really feel like eating but Maura had insisted.

"May I escort you to your table?" asked one of the waitresses and Jane was snapped out of her quiet thoughts and looked up. A young woman, a girl almost, had appeared beside them. She couldn't be any older than twenty-one. Blonde hair framed her heart shaped face and she had a pair of amazing blue eyes and spoke with an Eastern European accent.

"Thank you," Maura answered politely and turned slightly to look at Jane. "Table for two, please."

Jane followed Maura and the waitress, who had introduced herself as Julia, to their table and sat down after hanging her blazer over the back of her chair. A jug of water stood on the table and Julia handed them their menu's before leaving them to decide. Maura opened the menu and studied the different meals. Jane opened her own menu and felt her stomach tighten at the thought of food.

"I think I'll just have salad," she said as she put the menu down. Maura looked up in surprise.

"You really should eat something more substantial, Jane."

Jane frowned. "Why?"

"You've barely eaten today," Maura countered and Jane couldn't argue with the other woman's observation skills. It was true. She had barely eaten a thing all day but her stomach didn't signal she was hungry. She sighed and picked her menu back up and eventually settled for steak with a salad on the side. When Julia returned she placed her order and asked for a beer. Maura ordered a sea food platter and requested a glass of Merlot. When Julia disappeared towards the bar, Maura's eyes fixed on Jane.

"You're frowning," she observed. "And you've been picking at your fingernails under the table. Are you nervous, Jane?"

"Can we just talk about the case?" Jane answered, avoiding making eye contact with the other woman. "Did you think about what Frost found?"

Maura nodded. "Serial killers often go through something called a 'cooling down' period. This is the time where they reflect upon what they have done and, in many cases, start preparing for their next kill. The bodies in New York were found over a six month period, each time with about three weeks in between, and then the killing stopped."

"Why would they have stopped?" Jane wondered out loud.

"A variety of reasons. The killer could have been arrested for a different crime and been sent to prison or perhaps he died," Maura said. "The one thing I do know about serial killers is that they never just stop. They need to be stopped, either by one of their victims or by law enforcement. No serial killer starts killing people and is then able to walk away from it. They need the feeling like a smoker needs a cigarette. They can't live without it."

"So you're saying that it's impossible for him to have stopped killing and waiting thirty years before striking again?" Jane asked and Maura nodded.

"Yes. Longer cooling down periods have been observed but thirty years is simply unheard off. You said it yourself, Jane. The killer would most likely be in his sixties. How would an elderly man be able to overpower a fit young woman?"

"Do you think you can find anything in New York that they didn't find before?"

Maura wearily studied the detective's face. "I can try, Jane. Science has progressed a lot over the past thirty years. Back then they hadn't even heard of DNA. They didn't know how to collect or persevere it and they certainly didn't know how to use it. If I find anything, the chances of it being useful are small and it will never hold up in court."

Jane leant back in her chair and ran her fingers through her thick curls. When Maura had first suggested coming with her to New York she had been reluctant to accept her offer but the more she listened to the medical examiner, the more she realised that Maua's input could be very valuable. She peered at the honey blonde through her eyelashes and observed the slightly distant look in her eyes now that their conversation had fallen silent. "What made you come back to Boston?"

Maura's hazel eyes widened. "I, errr, I felt like I needed to go back to my roots."

"Your roots?" Jane asked in surprise and she detected the hint of discomfort written across the medical examiner's face. She had assumed that Maura had been born somewhere outside of Massachusetts because she seemed almost like an alien in Boston. "You were born here?"

"Yes," Maura sighed. "Though I didn't actually spend a lot of time living in Boston."

Jane's curiosity was triggered. "Why not?"

"My father is a professor. He would take on different positions at different universities across the country and often we would move him. When I was ten they finally decided to settle down in one place and they chose Boston, because it was where I was born. They had very busy lives and errr, I didn't see much of them as I was growing up." Maura averted her eyes as that final sentence came out.

"Oh," Jane said softly, suddenly sensing Maura's discomfort. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I'm an only child."

_Well done, Rizzoli _Jane reprimanded herself. _Look what you've done. _"You know, sometimes I wished I'd been an only child." She smiled when she noticed Maura looked up, a sudden flash of happiness bringing a light back in her eyes as if hearing Jane saying those words instantly made her feel better. "Growing up with two brothers isn't as great as it sounds half the time."

"You have two brothers?" Maura asked and Jane nodded, a smile dancing around her lips.

"Yeah, Frankie and Tommy." She chuckled softly as she mentioned her younger siblings. "Frankie's a cop too. He's in uniform but he keeps saying he wants to be a detective someday." She looked down at the table. "And Tommy…" Her voice trailed off as she thought of her youngest brother. The trouble maker in the family. He always had been, ever since he was a kid. "Tommy is an idiot."

Julia returned with Maura's wine and Jane's beer and the dark haired detective watched with great interest how Maura picked up her glass, brought it to her nose and briefly sniffed her wine. Then she brought it to her mouth and Jane felt her breath hitch in the back of her through as the burgundy liquid made contact with Maura's lips. A smile spread across the honey blonde's face as she softly put the glass back down and looked up to find Jane looking at her.

"Did Frost manage to sort out the hotel?" she asked.

Jane nodded. "He said he got us somewhere close to Central Park. Made it sound like we're tourists."

"New York has always been on my list of places to visit," Maura mused. "It's a shame it's a case that brings us there now."

Jane silently agreed and unexpectedly felt her stomach rumble when she caught sight of Julia walking towards their table carrying a large tray with two plates on it. She smiled to herself as she looked down at her steak and as she picked up her knife to cut off a piece she thought that maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

~()~

The flight from Boston to New York was scheduled to last an hour and ten minutes but took in fact just over thirty five minutes. Jane had barely had time to fasten her seatbelt and drink the can of coke offered to her by the flight attendant when she looked out of the window and recognised the Big Apple below her. The minute she had boarded the plane all the fear had just abandoned her body and she had sat down in her seat, fastened her belt and waited for them to take off. Maura had been flicking through a magazine she found in the seat pocket in front of her but now she too stretched out to have a look through the window. Jane could smell the vague hint of perfume on the other woman as Maura leant towards her.

By the time they had left the plane, collected their suitcases and managed to find their way out of LaGuardia and arrived at the nearest taxi stand, it was almost a quarter to eight. The temperature had dropped but it was still pleasantly warm outside and Jane took a deep breath. The air was thick with car exhaust fumes and the smell of kerosene, just as you would expect at an airport. Maura had walked towards one of the yellow cabs and was holding the door for Jane to get in.

"The Surrey?" Maura gasped when Jane mentioned the address to the driver and he nodded in affirmation. "Frost booked us into The Surrey?" Jane glanced at the other woman in surprise. "Remind me to thank him when we get back."

"Why?"

"Because the Surrey is a five star hotel in the Upper East Side, surrounded by Central Park and Madison Avenue," Maura said and her hazel eyes glistened with joy. "From what I have heard, it is supposed to be absolutely amazing."

"Really?" Jane asked as she sat back. "Frost did that for us?" She snorted. "Good man. He knows BPD is paying for our stay here. He decided to make it worth our while even if the reason we're here turns out to be useless."

The cab journey from LaGuardia to the Upper East Side took about fifty minutes, twenty of which they had spent stuck in gridlocked traffic. Night time was falling as they travelled through the Big Apple and the sun began to set behind the sky scrapers as Jane gazed out of the cab window at the city outside. It looked just like it did in all those tv series and movies and she found herself mesmerized by the sheer scale and size. Boston was a big city but New York felt ten times bigger. When she looked beside her she found Maura looking out of the other window and smiled to herself when she saw the almost childlike grin gracing the other woman's lips.

When they eventually arrived at The Surrey hotel, Jane tipped the driver and picked both her and Maura's suitcases out of the trunk. They walked into the hotel and they both took a moment to watch the grand designs. The lobby floor was covered in marble and a solid dark wooden desk housed check-in and reception. Leather arm chairs stood together, forming small groups, and newspapers and magazines lay on the coffee tables. The ceiling was covered with glass covered lamps, allowing for an intense amount of light to fall in to the place.

"Good evening and welcome to The Surrey. May I take your name please?"

"Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles," Jane answered. The man standing opposite her typed their names into the computer and smiled graciously as he withdrew two key cards from a drawer out of Jane's sight and handed them to her and Maura.

Two Grand Deluxe Salon rooms, 203 and 204. Take the elevator to the second floor and the signs will show you the way."

Jane and Maura stepped into the elevator and Maura pressed the number 2. The doors closed and the elevator slowly began making its way up. Neither of them spoke and as the doors slid open they revealed a corridor. Jane spotted the golden sign with the words 'rooms 201 to 2010' with an arrow pointing right. She and Maura started down the corridor and eventually reached to identical looking doors. They swiped their cards and the locks sprung open.

Maura stepped into her room and took in the design. The first thing she noticed was the leather covered headboard attached to the bed. She left her suitcase by the door, took off her shoes and padded across the soft carpet towards the bed. She let her slender fingers dance across the light brown coloured leather before sitting down on the bed. Covered in pure white sheets and with an array of beautifully arranged pillows, the bed felt soft and comfortable. Two cream coloured arm chairs and a matching footstool stood on the other side of the room. The bedside tables were carved out of dark wood with designer white lamps on either side of the bed. A flat screen TV had been mounted to the wall opposite the bed.

Maura pushed herself off the bed and crossed the room towards the bathroom. A glass covered double shower cubicle invited her in and she instantly felt the need to wash the day away. A marble covered sink with large mirror on the other side of the room and a hotel issued bathrobe hung ready for her to wear. She quickly left the bathroom to double check she had locked her door before returning to the beautifully designed room and began unzipping her dress. When she stepped into the shower and titled her head back so the water rained down on her face, Maura felt like she could finally relax.

After she had showered and had gotten dressed in a simple pair of black pants and an off the shoulder cream top, there was a soft knock on her door. She muted the TV where she had been watching the local news, walked to the door and rose to the tip of her toes to peer through the spy hole. She recognised Jane and smiled as she opened the door.

The detective's curls were still damp and fell down her shoulders like a wild cascading waterfall. She had gotten changed in a pair of jeans and a Boston PD shirt. "Hey."

"Hi." Maura stepped aside. "Come in."

"We owe Frost for putting us in a place like this," Jane said as she sat down at the end of the bed and briefly glanced at the TV. "I wonder if the lieutenant knows about this."

Maura chuckled. "He will do when Frost hands him the bill."

Jane brushed a curl out of her eyes. "Better hope that Frost still has a job when we get back."

"Can I get you a drink?" Maura asked as she reached the fully stacked minibar. "They have a good variety of liquors in here."

"Courtesy of Frost, no doubt," Jane answered. She watched as Maura poured herself a small glass of what looked like whiskey. "I just got off the phone with NYPD. Managed to get through to their Cold Case team. Detectives Mike Shannon and Alexandra Whitfield are expecting us at nine am sharp." Maura looked up. "They seemed rather surprised someone had found a connection to their case."

"No one's been working it?" Maura asked as she walked back to Jane and sat down beside her.

Jane shook her head. "It's been collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. Just another one of those cases where every so often someone picks up the file, flicks through it and decides there is nothing they can do. No wonder some of them will always be cold cases."

"That's awful," Maura sighed. "Those victims deserve justice too."

"Detective Shannon said that he and Detective Whitfield have been working Cold Cases for the past six years. There is no system to how they pick their cases. It could have been the next one on their list, or it could have been another ten years before someone found it." Jane looked down at the carpet, once again mesmerized by the pattern created in the wool. "Those families have waited thirty years for answers. Parents who never got to know what happened to their daughters."

"Are any of them still alive?" Maura asked.

"We'll find out tomorrow," Jane said softly. "Let's hope the press doesn't find out we're here. It's bad enough trying to solve a case when you have plenty of leads. I don't want them recapping all their old news articles when they find out that Boston has a victim that matches a crime scene from thirty years ago."

Maura gave the dark haired detective a sideways glance. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Jane's eyebrows shot up. "A walk? Maura, its dark outside!"

"Jane, you work crime scenes at three o'clock in the morning and you're telling me you don't want to go outside in New York at half past nine at night?" Maura asked and she stood up. She looked down and realised that Jane was walking on her socks. "Come on, grab your shoes. We're going to Central Park."

"What?" Jane shook her head. "Why?"

"Because I'd like some fresh air and Central Park is supposed to be amazing at night time and neither of us has ever been to New York," Maura argued and Jane had to admit that all those comments sounded pretty valid. Suddenly the medical examiner's face fell. "Unless you don't want to go with me, of course."

"No!" Jane said quickly and stood up. "We'll go. Just let me grab my shoes. Five minutes, OK?"

~()~

The Surrey Hotel lay in the Upper East Side and was surrounded by sky scrapers. It was only a short walk from the hotel to Central Park and Jane found that Maura had been right. It did look amazing at night time. Many of the trees had been decorated with fairy lights and in the parts where the trees were not li, streetlights illuminated the paths. There were a lot of people about, she noticed. Some were joggers, dressed in their sweat pants and t-shirt listening to their IPods, but most of them were couples, wrapped up in each other's arms as they walked.

"Why is it we never appreciate our parks back home but love them when we're someone else?" Jane wondered.

Maura arched an eyebrow. "We always take for granted what lies right in front of us all the time. We forgot how beautiful it really is when we see something every single day. When you're taken away from it you learn to see it in a different light."

"What are you, a poet?" Jane asked and chuckled. "Is it bad that I kinda hope we have to stay longer than just a couple of days?"

Maura's eyes lit up. "No."

"You know that thing you do," Jane began and the medical examiner stopped walking. They were standing under a street light and the golden gloom brought out the beautiful colour of Maura's eyes.

"What thing?"

"That Google thing," Jane said and she smirked. "You know, when you go round telling me all those random facts." Maura looked at the detective in a mixture of surprise and confusion and Jane realised that the other woman truly had no idea what she was talking about. "How do you do it? Can you stop it? Is it something that just happens?"

Maura furrowed her brow. "I don't know." The answer was honest. "I just do."

Jane cocked her head. "Have you ever told a lie, Maura Isles?"

"Oh my God, no!" Maura exclaimed and Jane had to force herself not to smile at the horror spreading across the other woman's face. "I can't lie. Oh Jane, please don't ever ask me to lie! I just can't do it."

"What happens when you do?"

"I get hives." Maura averted her eyes. "Or I go vasovagal."

"You go what?"

"I faint."

Jane Rizzoli was lost for words for just a moment. It was something that rarely happened to her but right now, in the middle of Central Park, she could do nothing other than look at Maura Isles. She had met this woman just a few days ago but there was something about her that made her feel at ease. She nonchalantly pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "So you can't lie, eh?"

Maura shook her head. "I tried once. It didn't end well."

Jane placed a hand on Maura's arm for a second and cocked an eyebrow. "I'll make sure to remember that."

They walked for another hour or so, enjoying the beauty of Central Park and the iconic backdrop of New York City. It had gone fully dark now and the stars filled the sky. They had reached a small stream that wound its way through the park and crossed the stone bridge to get to the other side. For the past fifteen minutes or so they had barely spoken and Maura realised that she just enjoyed the company of someone walking beside her.

She couldn't remember ever doing something like this with another person. Just walking through a park and talking about their lives. She couldn't remember talking to anyone about her life because, until now, there never really had been anyone to talk to. She wouldn't call herself lonely. She worked long hours and there was little time to socialise but sometimes, when she came home at night, she wished there was someone on the other end of the phone she could call, just to talk. Not even the most beautiful house in Beacon Hill and the most expensive piece of art on her wall could take away the desire for human contact.

Maura smiled to herself. Human contact. She knew she wasn't very good at socialising. Even as a child she had struggled making friends. The other kids thought she was boring and when she got older the other girls in her year were more interested in boys than science. The only thing Maura had in common with them was her love for fashion. She could recognise a designer skirt just by looking at it. As the thought left her head she looked sideways at Jane. Jane Rizzoli was possibly as unlike any of her so called school friends as was humanely possible but Maura felt like she didn't have to pretend to be anything she wasn't when around the detective. Jane had already seen her for who she was and she still chose to spend time with her.

"Maybe we should go back," Jane suddenly said and she broke the quiet atmosphere between them. Her eyes found Maura's. "It's almost eleven o'clock and we have an early start tomorrow."

"Sure," Maura said softly, feeling a little saddened that her time with Jane in the park had come to an end.

They started their way back to the hotel and Maura found a short cut that brought them out to different exit of the park. They crossed the street, walked back a few blocks and eventually raced their hotel. They made their way to the second floor and Jane hesitated outside her door and turned to look at Maura. The honey blonde was about to slide her key card.

"Would you like to have breakfast before we go tomorrow morning?"

Maura's face lit up and she smiled. "I'd love that. Thank you."

"OK," Jane smiled sheepishly and unlocked her door. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Maura."

"Goodnight, Jane."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **It is a bit busy in my life at the moment so in the next week or so the updates will be few and far between. I'll do my best to stay on it, ofcourse. For those of you who are interested, I have created a theatrical trailer for this story and it can be found on YouTube unde "Rizzoli & Isles - Serendipity". ~Cissy**  
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**Chapter 7**

Jane met Maura in the restaurant the next morning. They had breakfast together but Jane found she had little taste for the continental display of food and chose simple coffee and some cereal and fruit. Maura opted for a croissant, herbal tea and a glass of orange juice. Dressed in a white blouse and cream coloured pants and white high heeled shoes, Jane was momentarily taken in by the doctor's appearance. Maura's wavy hair fell down her shoulders, framing her face. Her hazel eyes seemed to light up when she saw Jane walk in. The detective was dressed in her usual black slacks, matching blazer and baby blue shirt. Her thick curls cascaded down her back and Maura observed the small bulge on Jane's hip where her gun sat in its holster.

They ate whilst talking about the case. Neither woman mentioned the previous night in Central Park though Jane found herself reminiscing every so often, whenever a silence fell between them. Once she had finished her coffee and Maura finished off her orange juice, they left the restaurant and Jane hailed a cab outside the hotel. She held the door open for Maura, who smiled as she climbed into the back seat. Jane sat down next to the medical examiner.

"Corner of 152 West and 24th Street," Jane said to the taxi driver and he nodded. She turned to look at Maura. "That's where the 12th Precinct is."

Maura nodded. "I see."

The remainder of their cab journey the two women were quiet whilst listening to the morning news on the cabby's radio. Jane's ears pricked up at the mention of the sports result whilst Maura seemed more intrigued by the world news reports. The traffic around them was busy and the sound of car horns and squeaking tires filtered into the cab through the partially opened window. Jane felt slightly sickened by the overly sweet air freshener dangling from the cab's rear view mirror and felt a sense of relief when they eventually pulled up and the cabby turned around for her to pay. She tipped him as much as was expected of her and climbed out of the car, eager for some fresh air. Maura followed and turned to look at Jane.

"Where do we go now?"

Jane's dark eyes darted around. "Down here," she said as she pointed at a building a little further down from where they were standing. "It's got the NYPD sign outside. This has got to be it." She began walking and Maura quickly avoided a young couple, their hands securely linked together, and caught up with Jane.

"What was the name of the detective again?" she asked.

"Mike Shannon and his partner is Alexandra Whitfield," Jane answered.

They had reached the steps leading up to the building and she briefly inspected the NYPD sign outside. Inside a uniformed officer waited by the door and Jane pushed aside her blazer to reveal her badge. Maura rummaged through her handbag and found her own Medical Examiner badge and attached it to her pants, on display. The uniformed officer glanced at the two badges before opening the door for them, smiling friendly. Jane crossed the brightly lit hall to the front desk where another uniformed officer sat behind a desk. He was young, maybe in his mid-twenties, and had short cropped black hair.

"Good morning, how may I help you, ma'am?" he asked when he laid eyes on Jane.

She groaned. Jane hated being called _ma'am_. It made her feel old. She studied the officer's name badge for a moment or two and then flashed her badge. "Officer Johnson, my name is Jane Rizzoli, Boston Homicide. This is Doctor Maura Isles. I am here to meet with Detectives Shannon and Whitfield from the Cold Case Unit."

Officer Johnson reached for the phone, pressed the number six and waited for a moment. "Lieutenant Dunham, I have a detective Rizzoli here waiting to see Detective Shannon." He waited for a moment and Jane assumed that Lieutenant Dunham said something on the other side. He then put the phone down and smiled. "Detective Shannon will be with you in a moment. Would you like to take a seat?" He pointed to a small coffee corner, which reminded Jane a lot of the cafeteria back at BPD.

Jane and Maura sat down at the table nearest to the door and Jane fumbled with the menu.

"Something wrong?" Maura questioned, suddenly becoming aware of the detective's nerves reaching the surface.

"No," Jane denied. "I am just not a fan of having to ask for help."

"There is nothing wrong with asking for help, Jane," Maura countered.

Jane wholeheartedly disagreed with that. She looked at asking for help as a sign of weakness. It was one of the reasons she had stopped going to those damned psychological evaluation sessions after the whole thing with Hoyt. It was a mandatory thing for every officer who had been through a traumatic event but they were useless, or so Jane thought. The shrink made her feel weak and answering questions about nightmares did nothing to make her feel stronger. She never got a chance to voice her opinions to Maura as a man's voice roused her from her thoughts.

"Detective Jane Rizzoli?"

Jane looked up and saw a man she assumed was Detective Mike Shannon standing in the cafeteria's doorway. He was younger than she had expected though his brown hair was riddled with bits of grey. He had a strong and sharp jawline and inquisitive, kind dark blue eyes that now rested on the dark haired detective. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans with a belt and a white shirt of which the top button was undone. He had a slight sun tan, much like someone who had recently returned from a sunny holiday destination and spoke with a distinct New York accent.

"Detective Shannon," Jane said as she shook the extended hand, suddenly aware of the scars on the inside of her hand making contact with his skin. She met his eyes and held his gaze. "And please call me Jane."

"Then you must call me Mike," he smiled and his gaze ficed on Maura. She had slipped out of her chair and shook his hand. "Dr Isles."

"Maura," she corrected him with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Mike Shannon answered and glanced back at Jane. "I must admit I was surprised to receive your call, Jane. No one has looked at this case for a very long time."

"Call it fate or whatever else you like," Jane said and brushed her hands eagerly along her thighs. She was itching to dig into the files the Cold Case Unit had on their shelf and flashed a smile. "Shall we get to work?"

"Hard working woman," Mike observed and Jane's cheeks flushed a light shade of scarlet. "Just the way I like it. Come on, let's find Alex. I think she's got donuts."

Alex, or Alexnadra Whitfield, turned out to be a woman about the same age as Jane and Maura, with shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes. The trio found her sitting behind a metal desk, hidden behind a tall stack of files and surrounded by four styrofoam cups of coffee and a box of donuts. As she stood up from her chair Jane was surprised to find that Alex was almost as tall as she was, something that rarely happened, and when they shook hands, Jane found that the other woman had a strong handshake too. They sized each other up, momentarily taking in the other detective's attitude and recognising a mutual eagerness to achieve.

"Nice to meet you," Alex said as she shook Maura's hand before offering her and Jane some coffee. "I decided to spare you the part of actually having to dig up the files in our dusty evidence room." She pointed at the stack of files on her desk and Jane felt her heart sink. "We can dive straight in, if you like."

"What can you tell us about the case in Boston?" Mike asked as he pulled up two chairs for Jane and Maura.

"Female, red hair, mid-twenties, six stab wounds to the chest," Jane said and she saw the other two detectives share a look. "We found a necklace on the scene."

"We know that no such necklace was found on the scenes in New York," Maura added. "The Swarovski range wasn't established back then but there is a chance that even in the seventies the killer left something on or near his victims, like some form of a calling card."

"That detail was never released to the press," Mike said solemnly as he reached for the file on top of the stack. He gave it to Jane and she opened it. A small plastic bag fell out and landed in her lap. She picked it up and held up to eye-level, studying its content. Her breath hitched.

"White gold," Maura whispered as she leant in to study the necklace in the plastic bag. She was so close to Jane that the dark haired detective could feel the other woman's breath against her face. "No particular brand." Maura's eyes narrowed. "Is that a cross pendant?"

Alex nodded. "Yes. Standard design. You can find it in just about every jewellery shop around the whole of New York. Quite popular back then and now. Impossible to trace back to one particular shop." She picked up another file. "They found one of these near every victim. The cops back then never shared their findings with the press out of fear it would spark a rush of copy cats."

Jane put down the evidence bag and began flicking through the file. She recognised one of the crime scene photo's as the one she had seen on Frost's computer. "Do you have any of these digitalised?"

"We started scanning them after you called. Guessed you want to email them back to your colleagues in Boston," Mike said and Jane nodded.

"Thank you."

"Do you have the medical examiner's report?" Maura asked and Mike handed her a light blue coloured folder. She recognised the coroner's logo on the front and slowly opened it to reveal the reports written by the pathologist who had performed the autopsy. She lightly furrowed her brow as she studied the information. "Six deep stab wounds across the chest. Shape and size indicate a single edged blade. The knife penetrated the heart." She looked up. "She would have bled to death in seconds."

"They're all the same," Alex said as she opened file after file and revealed crime scene photo's telling the story of the red haired girls, their eyes still wide open but void of life. Blood marred their faces and their naked bodies had been displayed in such a way that people would flinch whenever they saw them. Provocative and lacking some of the tenderness displayed at the positioning in Boston. Their legs were wide apart, not hiding a single aspect of their femininity and their arms did not cover their breasts.

"Were there any suspects back then?" Jane asked as she put the file down and reached for her coffee.

"Plenty. Each one as unlikely or crazy as the one before. I think they must have interviewed every homeless person, mental patient or other freak in the whole Tri State area," Mike said. "No one ever admitted to the crimes and no one was ever caught. When the killings stopped, the police eventually gave up. New York is a big city and crime is high. They focused on the ones they could find instead of the ones they couldn't."

"And nothing like this ever came up again?" Jane asked but Alex shook her head.

"Nothing. Not until we found out that someone in Boston had committed a crime just like this one."

Jane leant back in her chair and glanced at Maura. The other woman was engrossed in the medical examiner's report and Jane shamefully studied the doctor. Strands of honey blonde hair had fallen in front of Maura's face and as she sat slightly bent forward, her white shirt revealed a slight hint of cleavage. Jane felt the palms of her hands getting sweaty as she realised her gaze was drawn to the mysterious valley behind Maura's shirt and quickly averted her eyes.

"There is a mention in here of suspected rape," Maura said and unexpectedly looked up. Her eyes found Jane's.

"Was there any DNA?" Jane asked, sounding hopeful.

"Jane, DNA fingerprinting didn't even exist until the nineteen eighties, DNA profiling was developed in 1984 by a British geneticist and was first used in forensic science to convict Colin Pitchfork in the 1988 Enderby murders case," Maura said and Jane felt her hopes fade away. "Even if a swab was taken back in the seventies, they would have had no idea what to do with it." She looked at Alex and Mike. "Can I access the evidence boxes?"

"The rape kits should still be in there," Mike said. "But they will most likely have been degraded. Whatever results you get from them, you will never be able to use the results in court."

The corners of Maura's lips curled up into a smile. "I only need them to point me in the right direction."

"I'll take you down to the basement," Alex said and stood up. "If the samples are there, we can take them to Doctor Moore, our in house pathologist. He works mainly for Homicide but he will do us a favour from time to time. I'm sure he'll lend you his lab for a day or so."

"Great," Maura said, her face practically radiating.

"Can we make a list of all these possible suspect names and see if any of them moved to Boston?" Jane asked after Maura and Alex had left, fixing Mike with a piercing glare. "We need to start somewhere, right?"

Mike smiled and patted the seat where his partner had sat only a minute ago. "It's not much but it's a start."

~()~

"So how long have you been working with Detective Rizzoli?" Alex asked as the door to the basement closed behind her and Maura. The two women allowed their eyes to adapt to their dim surrounds and Maura recognised shelf after shelf stackd with boxes. She had heard of evidence basements like these but had never actually been in one. A lifht byzzed over their heads, flickering every so often and Alex turned to look at the medical examiner. "She seems like quite a hard one."

"I don't know," Maura answered in all honesty. "I don't know how her all that well. I only started working for BPD this week."

"Really?" Alex arched an eyebrow in surprise. "You and the detective seem well matched."

Maura turned to look at the blonde woman. "What do you mean?"

"The way you speak and act in each other company," Alex said and shrugged. "People often say that if you spend enough time with your partner, he or she becomes somewhat like a spouse. I've worked with Mike for many years and he's like the older brother I never had. We can finish each other's sentences and in the beginning his wife felt threatened by me." She smiled. "She's allright with it now though."

Maura stopped walking. "What has that got to do with me and Jane?"

"Just something about the way you two appear in each other company. It feel as if you two have been around each other for years," Alex answered and checked the small piece of paper in her hand. "Row 35, box 326." She looked up. "Should be to the right and then down there."

Maura followed Alex and eventually they reached the shelf they had been looking for. The blonde detective pulled up a small stepladder and climbed on it before taking down a simple looking box. The case number on the front matched the case number scribbled down on the piece of paper in her hand and she set it down on the floor. She slowly removed the lid and peered inside. Maura knelt down beside the box, the concrete floor cold against her knees, and slipped her hand into a latex glove before reaching into it and retrieving a glass slide. Her hazel eyes widened as she checked the description.

"Semen taken from the first victim," she breathed and turned the slide over in her hand. "I can't tell in what condition it is until I put it under a microscope." She put it back in the box and looked up at Alex. "I might be able to prove a match."

"A match?" the blonde detective questioned. "I thought there was no DNA from the scene in Boston?"

"When I performed the autopsy on Vicky Lynch, I found a very small amount of semen on the inside of her thigh. Her body had been washed down with bleach and the sample was tainted," Maura explained. "I did not want to get Jane's hopes up by telling her I has found DNA if I was unable to use it. My team is currently trying to restore some of the sample and are attempting to profile it. Even if they just get a small part, it could be enough to compare to this sample."

"I see," Alex said and smiled. "You don't want to disappoint Jane."

Maura stared at the contect of the box. "I don't want to disappoint those who seek answers."

~()~

Jane looked up when Alex and Maura walked back in. She had made herself comfortable at the desk and her legs were resting on one of the seats. Her coffee cup was empty and there were crumbs of donut in her lap. She had looked around the Cold Case Unit a few times and had realised there were only a handful of people working here. The department was small, with tiny windows covered with grey blinds. A small kitchen unit in the corner was home to the coffee pot and biscuit jar and the desks were made out of simple aluminium. The department lacked a lot of the modern technics departments like Homicide and Narcotics possessed these days and she had come to realise that the Cold Case Unit was unvalued and understaffed.

"Find anything?" she asked as Maura sat down on one of the empty chairs. She put down her file.

"Hopefully," Maura answered, avoiding giving a detailed answer. "Alex is trying to get in touch with Doctor Moore. You found something useful?"

"I am beginning to think that the killer somehow managed to relocate to Boston without being noticed," Jane said and shook her head. "The details in all the crime scenes are scary and the necklace makes me wonder how a copycat could possibly have known about it."

Maura heaved a sigh. "Unless they were around when the first lot of killings took place."

Jane ran her fingers through her hair. "It is beginning to look more and more plausible." Dark eyes fixed on nothing in particular. "Which means we are chasing a serial killer who has managed to stay at large for over thirty years."

~()~

They had spent most of their day at the Cold Case Unit, surrounded by crime scene photos, old autopsy reports and white golden necklaces in plastic bags. By the end of the afternoon, Jane had removed her blazer, tied her hair back in a ponytail and had emptied four half litre bottles of water. Maura had borrowed one of Jane's elastic bands and had bound her own hair back too and sat on the department floor, her eyes peeled on the autopsy pictures. She had spoken to Dr Moore, who had promised to run a DNA test on the samples but warned her that it would take longer than usual as the samples were in a worse state than Maura had thought.

"Let's call it a day," Mike said as he stretched his arms behind his back and closed the file he had been reading. "I need to take my little boy to football practice. It's my turn to carpool."

"Pizza night, eh?" Alex asked and her partner nodded.

"Yep. The one night a week where the wife gets some peace and quiet."

Jane looked at Maura. "Come on, Maura. There is nothing we can do here anymore." The medical examiner reluctantly put down the file. "We'll come back tomorrow."

"Where are you staying?" Alex asked as she watched Jane pick up her blazer.

"The Surrey," Maura answered and the blonde detective whistled through her teeth.

"Very nice. Boston Homicide is paying?"

Jane chuckled. "They just don't know it yet."

"Want me to pick you up tomorrow morning? I need to pick up a delivery before work and its only two blocks away," Alex offered and Jane nodded.

"Thanks. That would be cool."

"See you tomorrow then."

"See ya," Jane answered and Maura smiled her goodbyes as they exited the Cold Case Unit and made their way back up in the elevator and eventually reached the entrance hall. The uniformed officer who had let them in that morning was already gone and had been replaced by a stocky looking bold guy who smiled as the two women left. As they stepped outside Jane took in a deep breath. They had been stuck inside all day and it felt good to be outside.

"Fancy going to the park?" Maura asked, not masking the hopeful tone in her voice.

Jane smiled. "Sure. I'd like that."

~()~

The cab driver had dropped them off fifteen minutes earlier and they were now standing side by side, overlooking the beautiful reservoir. Jane had seen it before, in picture and in the movies, but to actually stand here and see it with her own eyes was breath taking. It was quieter in this part of the park, she found. There was a sense of space and solitude and she looked sideways at Maura, who seemed mesmerized by the natural beauty that surrounded them.

"Isn't it beautiful?" the medical examiner breathed.

"Yeah," Jane answered softly, her gaze still fixed on the other woman.

Maura turned to look at the detective and caught her gaze. "What's on your mind, Jane?"

"Nothing."

The honey blonde's gaze dropped to the detective's hands and noticed how they were not hidden in the pockets of her slacks for once. She observed the raw scars that sat on the soft skin and wondered what they would feel like under her fingertips. Would they be rough or soft? Would it hurt Jane if she touched them? She reached out a hand but the dark haired woman immediately pulled away. Hurt flashed behind dark brown eyes.

"Don't."

"What happened?" Maura asked softly. "How did you get these scars, Jane?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Jane said sharply and stared at the surface of the water. "Leave it alone, Maura."

"Did someone hurt you?"

"I said, leave it alone!" Jane's eyes snapped back at Maura and the angry blaze startled the other woman. "It's none of your business anyway!"

"Jane…," Maura's voice was soft and inviting, almost comforting.

"Just don't, Maura," Jane said sharply and turned around. She walked away from the medical examiner and left Maura standing at the side of the reservoir, startled. All she could do was watch the raven haired detective walk away.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I wrote most of this whilst sitting in a coffee bar at the airport this morning. I finished it off when I got home. Enjoy and... don't worry ;-)**  
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**Chapter 8**

Jane didn't show up for breakfast the next morning and Maura ate her eggs and croissants alone, her gaze fixed on the restaurant's entrance in the hope the Italian detective would make an appearance. She had tried to find Jane after she left the park last night but by the time she had reached the exit and had looked down either side of the street, the detective had been gone. Maura had walked back to the hotel and heard loud tv noises coming from Jane's room. She had hovered outside the door for a little while, contemplating about whether she should knock and apologise, but then suddenly it had gone quiet and the moment had passed. Without words Jane had told her that she didn't want to see her. She had gone back to her own and had gotten ready for bed. When she woke up this morning, she had gotten dressed before going out to knock on Jane's door. The dark haired woman never answered.

After she has finished her breakfast, Maura hailed a cab outside the hotel and got in. She told the driver the address of the 12th precinct and absentmindedly gazed out of the window at the city outside. All she could think about was Jane. She had upset the other woman. She had never meant to hurt or upset her but what she had seen in Jane's eyes the previous night was pain and anguish. Whatever had happened to her, whatever had caused those scars, had not just hurt her physically. It had hurt her mentally as well.

Maura wasn't surprised to find Jane sitting at Alex Whitfield's desk when she walked into the Cold Case Unit. She was surrounded by some of the most brutal and gruesome crime scene photos and she didn't look up when Maura came in, choosing instead to ignore the medical examiner's presence.

"Jane?" Maura asked softly. Her eyes darted around. Neither Alex nor Mike was here. She wondered how long Jane had been here. She could imagine the other woman leaving the hotel before sunrise and spending hours here, alone, surrounded by pictures that displayed the cruellest and darkest sides of human behaviour. Her eyes fixed on the detective. "Jane, can we talk?"

"We have a case to solve, Maura," Jane answered distantly.

Maura took a step closer towards the desk. Still the other woman hadn't looked up. "I don't want you to be angry with me."

Jane's eyes finally snapped up to meet Maura's. "I'm not."

"Really?"

"Really."

Maura hesitantly pulled up a chair and sat down, folding her hands in her lap. Apologetic hazel eyes searched and found Jane's dark brown. "I'm sorry, Jane."

Jane furrowed her brow. "What for?"

"Prying."

Jane took a deep breath and she shuffled some of the pictures around the desk in an attempt to busy herself and break some of the tension between her and Maura. She couldn't bear looking up and seeing the hurt flash behind the medical examiner's eyes. She knew she had been unnecessarily harsh last night but she couldn't cope with Maura's questions. She felt better if Maura didn't know. "It's done now. Just leave it alone, Maura."

Maura collected herself and hid her emotions behind a mask of science and professionalism. She studied the pictures spread out across the desk for a few seconds. "Did you find anything?"

"Not too much, I'm afraid," Jane answered and her words echoed with a sense of hopelessness. "Some of the work from back then was sloppy, to say the least. Half the paperwork isn't where it should be and other parts haven't even been filled in." Jane shook her head. "I can't say I'm surprised they never caught this guy."

Maura leant back in her chair. "You heard of Frost?"

"He got the pictures Alex and Mike sent him and he and Korsak are comparing them to our own crime scene photos." Jane heaved a sigh. "It's not much but it's better than nothing."

They were interrupted by the sound of Maura's phone ringing and the honey blonde jumped a little in her seat before glancing down at the caller ID. "It's the lab."

Jane smirked. "Didn't you get someone to cover in your absence?"

"Of course I did!" Maura exclaimed, seemingly horrified that Jane could even think she had not appointed someone to take over her duties while she was away. "I can't just leave dead bodies lying around accumulating in the morgue!" She shook her head as Jane giggled softly and answered her phone. "Doctor Maura Isles."

Deep down she knew exactly what this phone call was about and she mentally chastised herself for it happening in front of Jane. She had left Boston with very clear instructions to only call her if there had been a break in the DNA research. The lab assistant on the other side of the line was quickly filling her in on what they had found and Maura felt her heart leap up in her chest.

"You are absolutely positive that you have collected and preserved a sample?" she enquired. Jane looked up, her curiosity triggered by the enthusiasm in Maura's voice. "Do not do anything unless instructed by me. With a little luck I should have another sample by the end of the day and I will personally send it to Boston by courier."

"What was that about?" Jane asked when Maura hung up. "It sounded like something happened."

"It did," Maura answered and nervously stared down at the hands in her lap. "It's about DNA."

"DNA?" Jane parroted. "What DNA?"

"The DNA I found on Vicky Lynch."

"You found DNA? Maura, why didn't you tell me?" Jane flared up. She placed her hands flat against the cold aluminium surface of the desk and stared at the medical examiner in shock.

"Because I didn't want to get your hopes up," Maura admitted.

"My hopes?" Jane asked. "What are you talking about?"

Maura brushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked up to meet the dark haired detective's eyes. She recognised the signs of anger in those dark orbs and chewed her bottom lip. "The sample is contaminated, Jane. I found bleach on the inside of Vicky Lynch's thighs. He raped her and then washed her to get rid of the evidence. The bleach contaminated the semen sample I found."

"Is it useable?" Jane asked. The anticipation laced her words.

"Maybe."

The sound of footsteps made Maura look over her shoulder and she found Alex and Mike walking onto the department. The latter was dressed in a casual t-shirt and a pair of jeans whereas his blonde partner had tied her hair back in a simple ponytail and was wearing grey slacks and a black V-neck t-shirt.

"What's all the excitement about?" Mike asked as he reached the two women and put down two cups of coffee and a light blue box filled with pastries.

"DNA," Jane beamed. "Doctor Genius may have preserved some."

"I drove past your hotel this morning," Alex said as she looked from Jane to Maura and back. "The lady at the desk said you'd already left."

"Sorry about that," Maura muttered as she was reminded of how she and Jane had separated the previous night.

"I had a call of Doctor Moore on my way here this morning," Alex said. "The sample we found in the evidence box is clean enough to be tested. There is some mild contamination but he assured me that testing shouldn't be a problem. He reckons the results should be of decent quality."

Maura nodded. "I'll have it sent to Boston by express courier for a comparison analysis."

"Why didn't you tell me straight away there was a chance we could use the DNA?" Jane wanted to know. She stared at Maura, defiance written across her face. "I don't like to be kept in the dark, Maura."

The medical examiner's eyes snapped back at the detective. Fiery hazel eyes pierced into Jane's and Maura squared her jaw. "Do you want to be the pot or the kettle, Jane?" Her voice was sharp. "I did it to keep you focused. If I had told you I'd found DNA, you would have gotten your hopes us. I couldn't guarantee a useable sample."

"We narrowed down a list of possible suspects based on the interviews and alibis they got back in the seventies," Mike interjected and waved a piece of paper in front of Jane's face. The comment severed the tension between the two women. "We ruled out the most unlikely candidates and were left with this lot. Alex matched all prison records to the names on this list but no one jumped out at us immediately but that doesn't mean they didn't do it."

Jane studied the relatively short list of names and couldn't hide her disappointment. "Did any of then move to Boston?"

"Nope."

"None?" she asked and the older detective shook his head. "Did they go on holiday maybe?"

"We checked everything as much as we could but none of these sickos ever went near the state of Massachusetts. We even went as far as checking relatives but no one lives even near Boston," Mike answered. "Most of these guys are still in the Tri State area and most are retired. Two are dead."

"John Metcalf died of a stroke." Jane's eyes narrowed. "Assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated sexual assault and several mentions of domestic violence. Gees, that stroke couldn't have happened to a nicer man."

"Jane," Maura said warningly and the detective looked up. "Brain haemorrhages are pretty nasty."

Jane showed her a picture of John Metcalf. "So was he." She grinned. "And our other dead suspect is Thomas Graham. He was found hanged in his room in a closed mental ward right here in New York." She chuckled. "That rules him out too."

Maura suddenly sat up. "How old was he?"

"What? Why?" Jane asked but checked the list anyway. "He was fifty. Why?"

"Suicide is the seventh leading cause of death amongst American men and almost four times as many men die of suicide than women," Maura explained.

"Why?" Jane asked.

"Some scientists would say that one of the main causes is the breakdown of romantic relationships followed by depressive episodes but those statistics apply mainly to men between the ages of twenty and forty," Maura said and a deep frown spread across her forehead. "Suffocation is one of the most favoured options for suicide in men, after firearms. Did Graham Thomas have a mental illness?"

"He was in a mental hospital, Maura. What do you think?"

Maura ignored Jane's smartass comment. "What was it?"

"Schizophrenia," Mike answered solemnly. "At some point during the investigation, he was the primes suspect. When he was sane of mind, he was this friendly and fun loving man. Really soft spoken and wouldn't hurt a fly. But he went through phases where he would stop taking his meds and one of the old detectives described it as watching Jekyll and Hyde."

"Did he become violent?" Jane wanted to know.

"Not really, though he could show some violent tendencies. Thomas was a paranoid schizophrenic. He would hear voices that would tell him things. Like conspiracies and stuff. At some point he believed that we were all possessed by demons and he had to exorcize us all."

"It is a horrible disease," Maura said softly. "Often the audio and visual hallucinations can spur on a person to commit suicide. When did he die?"

"Ten years ago," Jane answered and threw the list of names down on the desk. "None of these guys ever went near Boston. The only suspect that looks even remotely good for this, is dead. So basically we've got zilch."

"Maybe the cases are not connected after all," Alex suggested as she leant against the desk. Her gaze lingered on Jane as she took in the detective's deflated expression. She couldn't count the amount of times she had looked like this, feeling hopeless and unsure about whether she would ever be able to solve a case.

Jane cradled her head in her hands. "Maybe."

"What are we going to do?" Maura asked. She kept her eyes fixed on Jane and felt saddened by the detective's struggle.

"There is nothing else we can do. We've found everything there is to find here," Jane said as she lifted her head up from her hands and looked at Maura. "We're going home."

Maura was about to answer when Jane's phone vibrated. The detective unclipped it from her belt and glanced at the screen before pressing the green button. "Hey Frost."

Her partner's voice sounded strangely hollow. "We've got a problem, Jane."

"What, Korsak pick up another stray?"

"Not quite but we picked up something alright."

Jane sat up in her chair with a jolt. "What exactly?"

"Dead girl. Red hair, six stab wounds and a golden necklace," Frost answered. "Naked."

Jane closed her eyes as the message hit her. "Shit."

"That's what I said."

"OK, thanks, Frost. Maura and I should be home at some stage tomorrow. Who's the medical examiner on call?"

"Pike."

Jane groaned. "You'd better make sure he does his job right. I never understood why they hired that idiot anyway. I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up and her eyes darted from Alex to Mike and eventually to Maura. The medical examiner saw the sudden fear in Jane's eyes. "Boston officially has a serial killer."

~()~

Central Park was busy. It was late afternoon and Maura and Jane walked along one of the many winding paths around the green lawns and flower beds. They had just crossed one of the little bridges and had reached the well-known Strawberry Fields. It paid tribute to John Lennon and the two women took a few moments to look at the iconic black and white Imagine mosaic in the centre of the Strawberry Fields. The area was lined with elm trees, shrubs flowers and rocks. Benches stood around the mosaic piece in the middle of the path and several people had sat down in quiet contemplation.

"Don't you think it's ironic?" Jane said softly and looked at Maura.

"What is?" Maura asked as she looked at the detective.

"We're standing here, at the one spot where the song is supposed to make you think about what it means," Jane said softly. "Imagine nothing to kill and die for." She snorted softly. "We're investigating not one or two killings, Maura. We are now investigating eight. So much for the meaning of the song."

Maura didn't know what to say and let the touch of her hand speak for itself. Jane turned towards the other woman and their gazes locked. With a simple push, Maura began guiding Jane further into the park. They walked quietly side by side, Maura's hand still lingering on Jane's arm. Their pace was slow and it was as if they were drawn closer to each other the longer they walked.

They had left the 12th precinct after Frost's phone call and Jane had suggested going to the park to digest the blow of another body being found. They had agreed with Mike and Alex that there was nothing else they could do in New York. The evidence lay in Boston and they would have to take the evidence they had found here back with them. Jane had promised the other detectives they would keep them informed and in return Alex and Mike had reassured Jane and Maura that they would continue working the case here too.

"Jane?" Maura whispered as she stopped walking. They had reached another bridge and the detective was peering down into the narrow stream that ran underneath. Maura's hand had slipped from her arm. "What's on your mind?"

Jane sighed. "I just can't see it, Maura. We've worked our way through everything New York had to offer but all we've got is two dead suspects and a list that leads to nowhere."

"We'll find something, Jane," Maura reassured her. "The courier will deliver the sample from New York to Boston by the end of the day. I can run my tests as soon as we get back. I don't know what we'll find but at the moment it is all we've got."

Jane turned to look at the medical examiner and was once again taken in by her beauty. Maura's hazel eyes were full of light and Jane felt drawn to them. From the moment she had laid eyes on this woman she had felt something she couldn't explain but right here, in this moment, she knew damn well what it was. She was _attracted_ to Maura Isles. Needless to say it didn't come as a surprise, not since she had fallen head over heels in love with Stacey McKenzie when she was fifteen, but she was still startled by the realisation.

"What is it?" Maura questioned when she registered the suddenly distant look in Jane's eyes.

"Just something on my mind, that's all," Jane said and she smiled weakly. "I never apologised for walking off like that. Last night, I mean. I know you were just trying to be kind and I was an ass. I'm sorry, Maura."

Maura's face lit up. "It's okay, Jane."

"No, it's not," Jane corrected the other woman and took a step closer to Maura. "I really am sorry."

Maura unexpectedly reached for Jane's hands and the touch of her fingers made the detective want to back off but Maura grasped a tighter hold of them so she couldn't move away. The feeling of their hands together brought a warm sensation to Jane's stomach and suddenly she felt frightened. She wanted to just turn around and run away, leave all of this right behind. But her eyes were drawn back to Maura and she drowned in their depth.

"Whatever happened to you didn't change the person you are, Jane," Maura said softly and looked down at her hands holding Jane's. "You are a strong, intelligent woman."

Jane sighed. "Some days I am not so sure about that."

"You are the only person questioning it," Maura said and weakly smiled. "You've survived, Jane."

She was too close. Way too close. Jane felt the hairs in the back of her neck rise up when Maura leant in. A shiver crept down her spine as Maura's thumbs began drawing circles across the rough scars on the back of her hands. She could smell the hotel issued shampoo on the medical examiner's hair. She could smell that scent that was already so typically Maura. Her lips were soft. By God, they were soft. And they were sweet, tasting of summer wine and autumn rain all in one.

She pulled back when she felt jhe tip of Maura's tongue press gently against her lips and pulled her hands free. Confused brown eyes stared at the medical examiner and they blinked a few times. Maura's hazel eyes still glistened with a mixture of happiness and joy but Jane felt her own smile falter. She couldn't do this. Not here, not now. Not with Maura. And as she sought the words to tell her this she realised she couldn't find them and did the only thing she knew she could. She turned around and walked away, once again leaving Maura behind. Deep down she wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back, wrap her arms around Maura and pull her close. She was the one thing in her life right now, completely new and undiscovered but yet safe, that made her feel comfortable but she couldn't cope with it. She wasn't ready so Jane did the only thing she had being doing for the last year. She walked away.

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**Reviews are to me what Maura is to Jane: She can't live without her either.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** The last two scenes in this chapter is what got me started on this story in the first place. I got the idea and worked the rest of the story around it in some way. I loved this chapter because it centres around Maura a lot. A lot of it has been Jane's POV but somehow all of this ended up more from Maura's perspective. Enjoy. ~Cissy**  
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**Chapter 9**

Maura didn't look for Jane. A part of her, a rather large part, wanted to. She wanted to go back to the detective's hotel room and bang the door for as long as it took for Jane to answer it, or for as long as it took for security to kick her out. But she knew instinctively, somewhere deep down, that Jane didn't want to talk to her. She had only spent a few days around the other woman and Maura had quickly figured out that Jane wasn't much of a talker. She wasn't exactly stoic either but she wasn't very good with her words. Her eyes however were a different story. Maura had seen every emotion imaginable flash behind those intense brown orbs.

Maura Isles didn't identify her attraction to be people by gender. She defined it by how they made her feel. It wasn't often she felt comfortable enough around someone to let her guard down, something she felt she could do around Jane. Though she had not shared with the detective the scars from her youth, or the family in which she was raised, Jane made her feel safe. Maura couldn't remember ever feeling safe in her life.

Her life. It had been unlike the lives of many of the people around her, Maura thought. Not many people knew about her. She was a rather private person, something she had gotten used to when she was growing up. Reserved and a bit distant at times. The result of a wealthy family where her parents had busy lives and she spent most of her time in boarding schools, without friends, and when she was at home there were no siblings to play or laugh with. She had spent a lot of time alone. Too much time maybe.

She stared up at the ceiling of her hotel room. The alarm clock on the side of the bed, with its bright blue neon letters, reminded her of the early hour. It was just after 4 am. It was 4.11, to be exact. Maura liked things to be exact. It was how she had always functioned throughout her life. It had been something reliable, something that wouldn't unexpectedly change. Like people. People changed all the time, Maura thought, and often not in a good way. She had seen the changes in Jane, even when the Italian woman thought no one else could see it. They intrigued her, much like the scars on the detective's hands did. Jane intrigued her, she realised. There was so much more to this woman than she was leading on.

With a soft groan Maura rolled onto her side and contemplated getting up. They would be flying back to Boston first thing this morning and throughout the night she had been thinking about the two DNA samples. Something about this case nagged her, irritated her beyond belief, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The cases were too similar for them to be a coincidence but she was inclined to agree with Jane about their pool of suspects. It was an outdated and aged pool, some of which were already dead and the remainder possessed solid enough alibi's to be ruled out.

Maura swung her legs over the end of the bed and sat up. There was no way she was going to go back to sleep. A soft sigh escaped her as her bare feet made contact with the plush carpet and she padded across the room to the bathroom. One glance in the mirror was enough to tell her that the lack of sleep was already leaving its marks and she stepped into the shower to rinse away the feelings that had begun to overwhelm her. The hot water flowed down her body and she washed her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of the shampoo.

She did not regret kissing Jane. If anything, it had felt surprisingly right. It wasn't until she had stood on that bridge that she had become fully aware of the adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine rushing through her system. She had identified all the physical signs ever since laying eyes on Jane for the first time. The sudden rise in adrenaline and cortisol made her heart beat faster. She knew love wasn't exact science. One could not simply measure love. But one could measure the hormones involved and that was exactly what Maura did. She analysed herself.

She had even recognised the oxytocin, which she had found surprising. She had never been aware of it before when being around other people. Maura switched off the shower with that thought still in the back of her head. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked back into the hotel room. She couldn't shake the thought of not having felt like this before and stood over her suitcase for a little while, as if unable to choose what she was going to wear. In the end she settled for a pair of navy blue pants and a cream coloured silk blouse, closed highly around her neck. She decided to let her hair dry naturally and sat back on the bed in lotus position before reaching for her case notes on the bedside table. If she was up and dressed anyway, she might as well work.

~()~

It was nearly half past seven when Maura wheeled her suitcase into the hotel lobby. There was no time for breakfast in the restaurant this morning. Their flight was scheduled to leave at just after ten and though Maura had contemplated hiring a car and driving back to Boston, leaving Jane to make her way back alone too, she rid herself of that thought when she discovered the tall, slender frame standing at the check-out desk. Jane was leaning against the desk and appeared to be talking to the woman who sat behind it. The blonde smiled at something the detective said and Maura set her jaw as she crossed the length of the lobby and placed her suitcase next to Jane.

"Room 204, checking out," she said as she placed the key card on the mahogany desk. She didn't look at Jane but she sensed the detective had turned her head and was now looking at her instead. The blonde woman behind the desk swiped Maura's key card, smiled politely and asked if everything had been as she had desired.

"Everything was perfectly in order, thank you," Maura answered. She reached for her suitcase and was about to turn around when she felt Jane's hand on her arm, stopping her from leaving. Reluctantly she looked up, not quite sure why she was suddenly so angry with the detective. Hazel eyes met dark brown.

"Hey." Jane's voice was deep and husky, like that of someone who had not slept all night.

Maura's fingers tightened around the handle of her suitcase, her knuckles turning white. "Hi."

They sized each other up and Jane looked for something in Maura's eyes, though she didn't know what it was she was looking for. Forgiveness, maybe? She didn't know what she was hoping to find. What she saw however was the unexpected hurt in those hazel green eyes. Maura tried to hide it behind her mask of professionalism and science but Jane could see the cracks. It was her job to see when people were under duress and Maura seemed pained and troubled. Suddenly she felt guilty.

She had to try. She had to at least try and see if Maura wanted to talk about it. "About last night…"

"Can we just go to the airport and go back to Boston?" Maura interjected and Jane's face fell. She was surprised by her own sharpness but didn't hurry to apologise. "The quicker we get back, the quicker I can do the comparison analysis." She paused, choosing her next words with extra care. "I'll be able to give you some answers then."

Jane watched as Maura pulled her suitcase towards the hotel entrance doors and then followed. She caught up with her outside and looked at the medical examiner as if she was about to say something but the words failed her. Maura hailed a cab and the driver helped to load their cases into the trunk. Maura climbed into the back and Jane followed. As the driver closed the back door they both became immediately aware of the small, confined space they were in and the tension mounted.

"We need to talk about this," Jane whispered. She tried to catch Maura's gaze but the honey blonde looked out of the window as New York City began to flash by outside. "Maura, please."

"I kissed you, Jane," Maura snapped and finally she turned to look at the detective. Hazel eyes were blazing with anger. "You pushed me away. I think that's all that needs to be said, don't you?"

Jane was taken aback by the anger. "I didn't mean to push you away."

"Oh, so this is the way you normally tell people its allright to kiss you because it sure as hell felt like a rejection to me!" Maura answered. The anger had settled in her chest and had wrapped itself around her heart. She had never experienced this coping mechanism before. She knew that's what it was. She was trying to cope with Jane. "It's OK, Jane. I'm a big girl, I can take it. Let's just get back to Boston and solve this case, allright? We can go back to who we were before we came out here and we can both pretend that I wasn't an idiot and you weren't an ass!"

Jane moved backwards, as if she was trying to get further away from the hurt and angry looking medical examiner. Somewhere deep down something broke inside her though she didn't know what it was. She was sure Maura would have a name for it but she sure as hell wasn't going to ask. She folded her hands in her lap, scars facing down out of habit, and was briefly reminded of how Maura had touched them the previous night. They hadn't hurt. For once she had felt no pain.

"Fine," she muttered softly. "Let's pretend this never happened."

Maura gave Jane a sideways glance and noticed how she looked at her hands. "Isn't that what you do anyway, Jane?" she said spitefully and fully aware of the hurt in Jane's eyes. "You pretend things never happened?"

The everlasting echo of that question instantly destroyed whatever there had been left between them.

~()~

By the time they had reached Logan International Airport, Jane and Maura had gone their separate ways. Jane had not even waited for the medical examiner at the baggage reclaim and stormed off once she had got her suitcase back. Maura had felt no need to rush after the detective and stood silently as the belt went round and round and every time it went past her, there were even less cases on it. It was a sad reminder of what Maura felt her life had become. Instead of things being added to it, they were taken away from her.

She had the cab driver drop her off at BPD and took the elevator down to the morgue. She left her case in her office and slipped into her familiar white lab coat. There was something comforting about wearing it. It provided a sense of safety. When she wore it she felt she had regained a small part of herself. It was nice to be away for a while, out in the field as detectives would say, but this was where she belonged; down in the morgue, surrounded by nothing else but the gruesome faces and silence of death.

"Doctor Isles, it's good to have you back!" Larissa piped up when she found Maura standing in the doorway. Larissa was short, skinny and with curly blonde hair that she permanently kept tied back in a ponytail. She was one of the best lab technicians Maura had ever come across and she had insisted that Larissa came with her to Boston. "How was New York?"

"Different," Maura answered absentmindedly. "Do you have the DNA samples set up?"

"When I got your text I set everything up just the way you asked me to," Larissa said and pointed at the equipment on the table. "Do you need any help?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Maura answered and crossed the room to the table. She tied her hair back in a simple ponytail and put on a pair of gloves. Larissa copied her actions and slipped her own hands in a pair too. She circled the table and followed Maura's actions with a watchful eye. They had been working together for nearly two years and had grown used to each other's methods of working. Maura rarely had to ask for anything as Larissa always seemed to be a step ahead of her.

They worked in absolute silence for almost an hour and Maura found that the intensity of the task drove the thought of Jane to the back of her mind. She isolated the DNA from the Vicky Lynch case as well as the DNA found in New York and ran her comparison analysis. Once everything had been done she turned to look at Larissa. "Call me as soon as the results come in."

"Where are you going?" the lab technician asked.

Maura took off her gloves and shed her lab coat before turning around in the open door. "There is something I need to do."

She had called first, to double check whether Jane was out. The last thing she needed was to encounter the detective on her own turf, knowing full well that she had no business being there. Reassured by Detective Korsak that Jane had in fact gone out to the crime scene from the day before, accompanied by Frost, Maura had taken the elevator up to Homicide and now hovered outside the double doors, second guessing herself. She took a final deep breath, pushed against the doors and walked in. Her eyes darted around the room and came to a rest on Korsak's desk. He looked up when he felt her eyes on him and she smiled.

"Detective Korsak."

"Doctor Isles." He seemed surprised by her arrival and she wondered how much of that was due to asking if Jane was around. "If you're looking for Jane…"

"I'm not," Maura cut him off. "I was looking for you, actually."

Korsak arched an eyebrow in surprise and studied the honey blonde. "For me? But Jane's the lead on this case."

"I know but this isn't about the case."

"Okay." Korsak leant back in his chair, a hint of confusion written across his face. "What can I do for you?"

Maura took a deep breath and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I want to know what happened to Jane."

Korsak's eyes widened and Maura registered the shock on his face. "I don't think it's my place to…"

"Tell me about what happened. Yes, you said that the last time. You also told me to ask Jane but I suspect it's no surprise for you to hear that she didn't say anything," Maura said and her voice betrayed a hint of irritation. "Jane Rizzoli is a lose canon, Detective Korsak, and she is good at what she does but if you, or anyone else, expects me to be working alongside her for the foreseeable future, someone had better tell me what the hell happened because I don't know how long I can put up with her behaviour!"

"She got to you, eh?" Korsak asked and his voice was suddenly a lot softer. He reached for a small piece of paper and a pen and scribbled something down before giving it to Maura. Sadness filled the older detective's eyes. "Go down to the evidence basement, Doctor Isles."

She frowned. "What's this?"

He met her gaze and held it. "The answer you're looking for."

~()~

The evidence basement in Boston wasn't that different from the basement in New York. It was dimly lit and with simple industrial shelves on in straight lines. Either end of the shelf was marked with a number and Maura double checked the small piece of paper in her hand before turning left. She silently mouthed the numbers on the ends to herself before finding the number that matched the first two digits on her note. She slowly started walking down along the shelves and looked up and down until she came across a box that matched the longer number Korsak had written down. The back of her throat became dry when she realised the name written across the box was Jane Rizzoli. She took the box and put it down before kneeling down onto the concrete floor herself. Her hands were shaking slightly when she removed the lid.

Maura peered inside the box and recognised the standard BPD case file, with the logo on the front. Several plastic evidence bags, the seals still intact, lay underneath it. She picked up the file and put in her lap. Slowly she opened it and instantly the tears welled up in her eyes. She hadn't been prepared for what she saw.

The close up pictures of the hands showed deep penetrating wounds with blood still seeping out. Her trained eye observed the severed tendons and nerves and she realised the amount of damage an injury like this would have done. The fingers were long and slender and Maura recognised them as belong to Jane. Her heart beat steadily in her chest as she turned over the crime scene photo and came across the next one. She gasped in horror when she saw Jane's face, bloodied and bruised, with dried blood still sticking to her skin. Her brown eyes were half lidded and she looked tired, fragile and broken. The pain was evident across her face.

The others pictures had been taken in hospital. Jane's face had been cleaned and it was obvious some time had passed since the picture at the crime scene had been taken, because a bruise had begun to form and covered the right side of her face almost all the way from her eyebrow to her chin. Her eye was swollen. The next pictures showed the deep laceration in her skull, bloodied and untidy as well as clean and stitched. The second picture also revealed the bald patch where Jane's black curls had been shaved off.

Maura covered her mouth with her hand as she turned the next picture. Jane's toned abdomen had been photographed, her shirt pulled up high to reveal the extent of her injuries. Maura recognised the broken ribs and the extensive bruising meant Jane had been in a terrible amount of pain. The bruises were a dark shade of blue and her fingertips trailed over the picture, across the bruises, and her eyes fluttered shut as the imagined the agony the dark haired detective had felt. From underneath this picture another appeared and Maura heaved a sigh when she saw Jane sitting on a hospital bed with her hands wrapped up in gauze. She looked helplessly into the camera, her dark curls framing her suddenly almost childlike face.

"I thought I'd find you down here."

Maura's eyes snapped up, startled, and she released her breath when she recognised Korsak. His eyes fixed on the pictures that lay scattered around on the ground.

"I haven't seen these in a long time," he said as he bent down to pick up the picture of Jane's bloodied hands. Maura watched as the memories dawned in his eyes. "I doubt Jane's ever seen them at all."

"What happened?" Maura whispered. "Who did this to her?"

"Charles Hoyt," Korsak answered bitterly and he shook his head as he let the picture slip from his fingers. It fell to the ground, landing by Maura's hand. "He was a monster."

"The name sounds familiar," Maura said softly as she looked at the pictures that surrounded her. "He was a serial killer, wasn't he?"

Korsak nodded. "Jane was working the case. I don't think she'll ever admit it, but it got to her. Hoyt was targeting vulnerable women. When the case came to a head, he kidnapped a doctor named Catherine Cordell. Jane somehow figured out where he was keeping her and she went out to get her." Korsak's voice trailed off as he reached the part of the story he wished he could forget. "Hoyt had not only been waiting for Cordell. He had also been waiting for Jane. She had become his new obsession. He hit her across the head with a two-by-four and…" He hesitated. "He jammed scalpels through her hand and pinned her down to the floor."

"Oh my God." Maura's eyes fell shut at the mere thought. She felt the tears stinging and forced herself to keep her breathing under control. "What happened?"

Korsak swallowed hard. "I found Jane and shot Hoyt. We saved Cordell before he could hurt her any worse and took Jane to a hospital. She was off for nearly a year and only started working Homicide again a few weeks before you arrived."

"That must have been awful, coming back here," Maura said. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Because you, Doctor Isles, are the only person that wasn't part of this." Korsak pointed at the picture of an injured Jane sitting on the bed, her hands wrapped up in bandages. "You do not remind of her what happened, unlike everything and everybody else in this place. When she looks at you she doesn't see a fragment of that horrible moment but most of all she didn't want you to know because she doesn't want you to think of her as weak."

"Jane isn't weak!" Maura flared up. "Look at this! Look at what he did to her! She survived. How can she think of herself as weak?"

"She does," Korsak answered. "And nothing either of us says will change that. Only Jane can do that."

"Where is she now?" Maura asked.

The corners of Korsak's lips twitched and he checked his watch. "Just came back with Frost but she should be in a session with the in house shrink in fifteen minutes." He chuckled. "I don't doubt that she won't turn up for this appointment either."

Maura pushed herself up and began collecting the pictures before putting them back in the file and eventually back in the box. Korsak helped her to put it back on the shelf and their gazes locked. Maura smiled. "Thank you." Her voice was laced with sincerity. "For telling me, I mean. I know Jane will probably kill you for it but I really appreciate it." She turned around and left the older detective standing by the shelf that bore the everlasting reminder of what had happened to Jane Rizzoli.

~()~

It was the same old story every single time. She'd press the button for the fourth floor, watch the doors slide shut and listen to the annoying little jingle that played over the speakers. She'd step out onto the polished wooden floor, start down the corridor and walk past the simple desk until she reached the last door on her left. She would stare at it, at the silver sign engraved with the name Lisa Zimmerman, M.D., before turning around and walking away again. Today was exactly the same as the time before and the time before that. The elevator doors closed and Jane pressed the number four. She pushed her hands into the pockets of her slacks and watched the numbers above the door light up. With a soft 'ping' the light stopped at four and the doors slid open.

The floor seemed extra shiny today and Jane could see her own reflection. She slowly started walking and glanced at the secretary's desk in passing. The woman no longer paid attention to her but Jane was convinced that every single time she would call Lisa Zimmerman the second she had left, just to let her know she'd been. She wondered if the shrink actually would ever expect her to go in. Jane didn't want to go in. She didn't feel like she had to. She didn't want to talk about Hoyt, about what he had done to her and what he had destroyed. She didn't want to talk about how she felt. She was pissed as hell. Everybody knew that. She didn't need a shrink to tell her that.

The corridor had a slight turn to the left and Jane followed it round. The first thing she saw was the door with the silver sign. The second thing she saw was the person sitting in one of the two black leather armchairs right outside the office. The person was dressed in navy blue pants and a cream coloured shirt and had honey blonde hair that fell down their shoulders. Maura looked up when Jane came to a stop and their gazes locked.

"What are you doing here?" Jane asked wearily.

Maura stood up. "I know what happened."

Jane's eyes darkened. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Jane, what happened to you wasn't your fault and you've got nothing to blame yourself over," Maura tried but the dark haired detective shook her head. "You really should go in, Jane."

"And if I don't?" Jane challenged.

Maura crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You talk to Doctor Zimmerman, detective Rizzoli, or you talk to me." Hazel eyes met brown. "Your choice."

* * *

**Note:** The extent of Jane's injuries as described was taken from The Surgeon book, however the book scenario was changed to fit in with the plotline of the TV series.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Okay, here we go for chapter 10. The reviews so far have been so kind. I appreciate the time you all take to read this story. The case is a little disturbing and it is about to get a whole lot stranger. However, Maura and Jane seem to be clearing at least some things up...**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_I can't seem to find the way to keep you  
from running 'round in circles in my mind  
There are things that we've both done that haunt us  
There are things that we both left behind_

_~Ben Rector – Need You Tonight_

The Dirty Robber was quiet, apart from a couple of retired cops sitting at the bar, several empty beer glasses and some impressive stories standing between them. Murray, the bartender, was wiping down and every so often cast a look at the two women sitting in one of the booths on the other side of the dimly lit room. Jane's hands rested on the table, scars facing up. There was nothing left to hide. Her dark eyes were fixed on Maura, half and half challenging the honey blonde to try and diagnose the extent of her injuries.

"Why didn't you want to tell me what happened?" Maura asked, finally severing the silence that had lingered between them ever since walking in nearly fifteen minutes ago.

She had been surprised when Jane had turned around and began walking away from the shrink's office. She had quickly followed the detective and in the elevator had cast her a questioning look as if to ask where they were going. Jane had merely stared ahead but had eventually said, "We'll go to the Robber.

"It's not exactly the type of conversation you have over coffee or during an autopsy, is it?" Jane said dryly. She arched an eyebrow as Maura's puzzled expression. "Got a cause of death yet? Oh and by the way, the scars on my hands were caused by a crazy serial killer when he nailed me to the ground with a scalpel."

Maura studied Jane's hardened expression. As she mentioned what Hoyt had done to her she saw the hint of hurt behind her eyes but she kept her stoic mask firmly in place. "Is that how you survive, Jane? You're being sarcastic about what happened?" She cocked her head. "Is that how you cope?"

"I cope by doing my job," Jane answered.

Maura leant slightly across the table. "What else do you have. Jane?"

Jane wanted to say something in return but realised that there was nothing she could say. All she had was her work. She worked to cope with Hoyt, to forget what had happened. She worked to avoid her mother, who was frantic about her wellbeing as well as being obsessed with her trying to find a man and getting married. She worked so she didn't have to think about Tommy and what an idiot he was. She worked so she didn't have to be at home, alone, with the shadows in her apartment reminding her of the shadows in her head.

"Well done, Doctor Isles," Jane eventually snorted and couldn't help the slight twitch of her mouth. "You have a Psychology agree I don't know anything about?"

Maura smiled. "It isn't rocket science, Jane."

"Really? You're talking to me about not having anything else but my job and this is coming from the woman who purposely locks herself away in a morgue surrounded with dead bodies?" Jane said sharply. It came out harsher than she had intended and she saw the hazel eyes reflect the hurt. She Was quick to apologise but the damage had been done. "Oh Maura, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Maura shook her head and was about to push herself out of her seat, scrambling to get away from the dark haired detective. "I'm used to being alone. I'll be fine."

Jane reached over the table and her fingers closed around Maura's wrist. "Don't go."

Maura's eyes met Jane's and the honesty in them was what drew her back into her seat. She slowly sat back down and felt the warm sensation of the other woman's hand against her own. Jane's skin was warm, she felt. The touch of her fingers against the inside of her wrist was so soft. In her chest her heart briefly leapt up, like it had done that night in Central Park.

"Why won't you talk about it?" she tried again. "People are worried about you, Jane."

"I don't want to talk about it because I don't want them to see me like they saw me back then!" Jane suddenly flared up. "I'm a cop, Maura. I am supposed to protect my partner, my fellow officers. How can they even go into a dangerous situation with me when they've seen me like this?" She raised her hands and turned them around so Maura could see the scars on either side. "This broken!"

"You're not broken!" Maura urged as she grasped the detective's hands and put them back down on the table. She had been touched by the raw pain in the other woman's voice. "You're not broken, Jane. You're scarred, and that's not the same thing. Scars tell us stories of the times in our lives when we got hurt but where we survived. Hoyt wanted to make you a victim but he failed. He made you a survivor!"

Jane cocked her head as she let Maura's words sink in. "You really believe that?"

The honey blonde nodded. "Yes."

"Well, then why do they keep sending me to that stupid shrink?" Jane asked.

"Mandatory, Jane," Maura said calmly. "But I'm sure that if you ask the lieutenant nicely, he will sign the paperwork that will see it revoked." She paused and a little smile broke through on her face. "Besides, you can't really see someone that isn't there?"

Jane frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Doctor Zimmerman has a second practice in California, Jane. She took a leave of absence from BPD six months ago to work in San Diego," Maura smiled.

Jane's eyes widened. "Why didn't anyone tell me this?"

"Don't you see, Jane? They were hoping that you would find the strength inside yourself to step through the door only to find out that there was no one there waiting for you. They needed to know that you were willing to face what happened to you but they all know that you've survived," Maura said. "Why else would they have allowed you back on the street with a gun?"

"They wouldn't have," Jane whispered softly. "God, I feel like such an idiot!"

"Enough with the blame," Maura answered. "You're a good cop, Jane. Erratic, maybe, and definitely not someone you would wanna cross but you're good at your job. They recognised that too."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "Who have you been talking to."

Maura stared down at the table. "Detective Korsak."

"Korsak?" Jane repeated, looking shocked. "When did you talk to him?"

"Doesn't matter," Maura answered and was about to say something else when Jane's cell phone vibrated. The detective looked apologetically at the medical examiner and unclipped it from her belt. The caller ID flashed 'Frost' and she answered.

"Hey Frost, what's up?" Jane's eyes remained peeled on Maura. Her eyes widened. "Come again?" Another pause. "Ok. We'll be right there." She hung and looked at Maura. "Did you take your cell out with you?"

Maura padded her pockets. "I must have left it on my desk. Why?"

"Figures," Jane said and climbed out the booth. "The lab's been trying to get hold of you. The DNA results are back."

"Really?" Maura asked in surprise. "That's unusually fast. Did Detective Frost say if they'd found anything?"

"Something big," Jane said and playfully smiled. "Whatever that might mean."

They walked out of the Dirty Robber together and realised with a shock that the heavens had opened and a surprise summer rain downpour had been unleashed upon the city of Boston. Jane turned to Maura, who stared at the heavy rain in a mixture of horror and disdain. "Not afraid of a little bit of water, are you, Doctor?"

"I spent thirty minutes doing my hair!" Maura protested as Jane went to reach for her arm and pull her out into the rain.

"You need to find something better to do in the morning," Jane said as Maura wiggled free from her grip. Suddenly something hit her. "We were in New York this morning. How did you have time to do that when we checked out so early?"

Maura's eyes unexpectedly snapped up and met Jane's dark brown. "I couldn't sleep."

"Oh." Jane chewed her bottom lip. "Listen, Maura, about what happened in the park…. I don't know what got into me and I am really sorry if…" She only then realised that there were tears in the other woman's eyes and her words fell silent. She just stared at Maura, shocked by the sight of her crying.

"Don't," Maura whispered. "I think you said enough this morning, Jane. You're right. We should just focus on the case and try and solve it as fast as we can. What happened in New York was a mistake and I think it is me who should be sorry. I crossed a line." She reached up to brush the tears from her face. "I really am sorry, Jane."

"What is it about you, Maura?" Jane suddenly asked and Maura looked up. "You come so close but then you are just as desperate to push me away. I know I did wrong. I know I did wrong twice. I walked away when I should have talked to you. You were trying to be friendly, you tried to be nice. I was an ass and I know it." She took a step in the medical examiner's direction. "But I do not regret you kissing me."

"Forget it, Jane," Maura said and stepped away from the dark haired woman. It meant she stepped into the rain and it quickly reduced her beautifully styled hair to thin, wet sleeks that stuck to her suddenly pale looking face. "We're not right for each other anyway. What were we thinking?"

"What do you mean; we're not right for each other?" Jane asked. "I've seen where you live, Maura. I know you have more money than I will ever earn in a lifetime and, unlike most, I am not freaked out by you cutting into dead bodies. What I am freaked out by is how comfortable you make me feel. I don't feel like I have to pretend when I am around you, even if I have never known anything different." She too stepped out into the rain and became increasingly aware of the traffic around them. "How can you say that?"

"I know more about you than you know about me, Jane. I don't even know anything about myself!" Maura suddenly said and the tears continued to trickle down her cheeks, lacing seamlessly with the rain. "I was adopted." Jane's eyes widened and suddenly she could just feel the other woman's sadness. "My parents were never very good at actually being parents and I never understood why they wanted me. I was an only child. I didn't have any friends when I was growing up." She raised her hands. "Hell, I don't even have any real friends now!"

"You have me!" Jane came to Maura's defence. "It doesn't matter, Maura! Whoever your parents are, or whatever they did or didn't do, it doesn't make you who you are." She brushed a strand of wet hair out of her eyes. "Look at you! You're the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That's something to be proud of!"

"Nice try, Jane," Maura sighed. "All I have is a tortoise, a house in Beacon Hill and…" She shrugged. "Soaking wet designer clothes."

Jane suddenly smiled. "Did you just say soaking wet designer clothes?"

Maura peered at Jane through her eyelashes. Thick, black curls had latched themselves to the olive skinned detective's face. Her dark eyes were fixed on Maura and reflected a world of emotions the honey blonde had never seen in anyone. The hint of a smile still lingered on Jane's lips and Maura couldn't help but smile too. The shy grin changed into a full blown giggle and Jane closed the distance between them before wrapping her arms around Maura and pulling her close.

"We're good?" she whispered softly as she rested her chin on Maura's head.

"Yeah," Maura answered. "We're good."

It was perhaps the strangest way two people had ever acknowledged a friendship, or whatever else there was between them, and as the years went on they would often laugh at that moment outside the Dirty Robber where they had stood in the pouring rain, their clothes soaking wet and laughing like a couple of school girls. But it was what had happened between Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles and the honesty shared in an unexpected summer rain shower had been the foundation for something that changed their lives for good.

~()~

Their hair was still dripping wet when they walked back into the Homicide Department. Jane had swung past the female locker room and got changed in a clean, and dry, pair of black slacks, matching blazer and soft yellow t-shirt. Maura had to settle for a pair of grey sweats and matching BPD t-shirt Jane gave her. Jane knew better than to say it out loud but she did think Maura looked good in them.

"What happened to you?" Frost asked when he spotted Jane and Maura walking towards him.

"Shut up," Jane said with a twinkle in her eye and looked at Maura. "What have you got?"

Frost handed the file to Maura who opened it. Jane peered over her shoulder and recognised two separate DNA print outs. Maura picked both of them up and held the see through sheets up to eye level. Jane couldn't tell the difference between them but she had seen plenty of these to know that the answer wasn't usually easy to see. Maura picked up a third piece of paper and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh wow."

"What is it?" Jane asked.

Korsak, who had been sitting at his own desk, also came over and Maura held the two DNA profiles up against the light. Now Jane could see that the patterns were distinctively different. Maura then slid the left profile on top of the other and held the set up again. Jane frowned but recognised how some of the parts of the pattern overlapped.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," she said, "but that looks like a match to me."

Maura turned slightly to look at Jane. "I can and I will correct you, detective. It is a match but not like you think."

Jane frowned. "Then how?"

Maura put the two printouts down. "The DNA of an individual is very nearly the same in each and every somatic, or non-reproductive, cell. Sexual reproduction brings the DNA of both parents together randomly to create a unique combination of genetic material in a new cell, so the genetic material of an individual is derived from the genetic material of both their parents in roughly equal amounts." She pointed at the two different DNA samples. "The lab tested these two samples to see if they matched and in a way they do, just not in the way we were expecting them to. These two samples share some of the same alleles but not all of them, meaning they did not come from the same person."

"So what does it mean then. I thought you said you had a match?" Jane asked. She felt a sense of anticipation creep into her chest.

"Some of the alleles _do _match," Maura said. "This suggests a biological link between the two donors." She took a deep breath and her eyes found Jane's. "But the sample also contains the same Y-chromosome and a Y-chromosome is passed along directly from father to son."

"They're father and son?" Jane exclaimed and stared at Maura in shock. "You sure about this?"

"Pretty sure," Maura answered. "I would only be able to confirm it if I have both donors in my lab and I'd do another DNA test."

"You don't have both donors, Maura. In fact, you have no donors at all!" Jane said. "In your expert opinion, Doctor Isles, do these two DNA samples belong to father and son?"

"Yes."

Jane slumped down in the nearest chair and shook her head. "Father and son." The words lingered between them for a few seconds. "Are they in this together? Daddy started it and now he's teaching his kid?"

Korsak rolled his eyes. "That's one father-son bonding ritual I'd rather not think about."

"Did any of the suspects in New York have children?" Frost asked and his eyes fixed on Jane.

"I'll call Mike and Alex and see if they have ever considered this possibility before," Jane answered and stood up. Slowly she crossed the area to her own work station and sat back down. She didn't know what it was that suddenly filled her with such dread. Was it the discovery that the killers were related or was it the fact she had talked to Maura earlier? She looked up and noticed the medical examiner standing a few steps away from Frost's desk, looking a little lost. Jane smiled and beckoned her to come over.

"Would you like to go and get dinner later?" she blurted out. It wasn't what she had intended on asking Maura at all but now that the question was out there she looked at her in anticipation.

Maura smiled. "Do you like Chinese?"

"I do," Jane answered sheepishly. "Meet me in the parking lot at six."

Maura nodded and was about to walk away when Jane called her back. She had remembered what she had originally meant to ask her. "What do you make out of all of this?"

"It is rather disturbing, isn't it?" Maura asked. "I don't know Jane." Hazel eyes found dark brown. "I wish I had an answer for you."

"Thanks, Maura," Jane smiled and watched the honey blonde walk away. Once Maura was gone she reached for the phone on her desk, took a business card out of the top drawer and dialled the number. The phone rang a few times before someone answered.

"Detective Whitfield."

"Alex, it's Jane."

"Hey Jane," Alex said on the other side of the line. Jane recognised the soft sound of someone typing on a computer and guessed Mike was sitting on the desk opposite his partner. "Can I put you on speaker?"

"Hi Jane!" It was Mike's voice that filtered through. "How's Boston?"

"Thrilling," Jane answered dully. She heaved a sigh and ran her fingers through her damp hair. "We've had a bit of a development here and I was wondering if you guys have ever come across it before. The results on the DNA tests came back and the results were, shall we say, surprising."

"How come?" Alex asked. Jane detected the hint of surprise in her voice.

"The samples are a partial match. Partial as in, they belong to father and son."

"No way!" Mike said. "That's…" He hesitated, as if looking for the correct word. "Disturbing."

"For starters," Jane admitted. "I know you gave me a list of possible suspects for the New York murders back then but I didn't take all their background information back with me. Do you know if any of the guys you liked for it back then had kids? Well, sons obviously."

"We'll have a look and I'll email you the rest of their background information," Alex said. Jane heard some papers being pushed around. "At first glance no one stands out but I'll get back to you on that."

"Thanks," Jane said and ended the call by saying goodbye. Suddenly she was hit by a wave of tiredness and as she put down the horn, she rubbed her eyes. Ever since this case had started she'd felt like she was being thrown around like a piece of plastic on a wild ocean. First there had been Maura, who had just walked into her life, and then there was the case itself that left her with more questions than answers. Actually, all of this left her with more questions than answers. Maura included.

She stood up and looked at Frost and Korsak. It was half past five. "I'm going home."

"So soon?" Frost joked.

"Shut up. Unless you've flown back into the city, spend half a morning in a car with you and got soaking wet in an unexpected downpour, you have nothing to say," Jane said warningly and Frost chuckled. "I am going home, eat Chinese and drink beer."

"With Doctor Isles," Korsak reminded her as she was about to open the door and she felt a smile spread across her face.

"Yes," she said. "With Doctor Isles."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **It took me a while to get an update for this, thanks to the craziness that is my life at the moment. I am grateful for all the reviews so far. Over a 100! You guys are awesome. I love that some of you think this case is disturbing and perhaps better than some of the ones we see on the show. I write to please. Enjoy. ~Cissy

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**Chapter 11**

Jane looked up from her sweet and sour chicken with rice to find Maura looking at her. The medical examiner had half finished her plate and cradled the glass of red wine in her hand. Hazel eyes lingered on the dark haired detective and a smile played around her lips.

"What?" Jane asked wearily as she put down her fork. "Don't tell me I've got food on my face."

Maura laughed. "No," she said. "This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when you said we were going to get dinner."

Jane gestured around her apartment. "What's wrong with this?"

"Nothing," Maura admitted. "Actually, this is nicer than going out."

Jane cocked her head. "You been thinking about the case?"

"I can't get it out of my head."

Jane swallowed and glanced down at her plate. Suddenly she had lost all her appetite. She pushed her plate away and picked up her own wine glass. "I am not sure whether the DNA results are making things better or worse. How can a father and a son be involved in this together?" She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "What parent could teach their child something like this?"

Maura sighed and sipped from her wine. "I don't know, Jane. Did you hear from Mike and Alex?"

"Alex sent me a text earlier that she's emailed me all the details. We'll look at them tomorrow. I don't know what we're hoping to find. Even if any of the old suspects had a kid, it doesn't mean it's going to help us at all."

She put her glass down a little too hard and Maura's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The irritation that boiled just underneath the surface started to emerge and Jane stood up from the small breakfast table in her kitchen and walked into the living room. Maura cast a final glance at the half eaten food before picking up the two glasses and following Jane to the couch. She sat down next to Jane, who had curled her legs up underneath her and handed her the glass.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about the case," Maura suggested whilst avoiding eye contact. Instead her gaze fixed on that morning's newspaper lying on the coffee table.

"OK," Jane said slowly and her index finger followed the shape of her wineglass. "What do you want to talk about, doctor Isles?"

Maura's hazel eyes found Jane's. "We could talk about what happened earlier today?"

She had been wanting to talk to Jane about what had happened outside the Dirty Robber earlier today but hadn't been able to find the right time, or the right words, to start a conversation. But now, right here, the moment felt right. They were in a place where they both felt comfortable and since coming home Jane had changed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a Red Sox jersey.

"You wanna talk about it?" Jane said softly.

Maura nodded and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I do."

"I meant what I said, you know," Jane said slowly as she put the wineglass down on the coffee table. "When you told me those things about your parents and stuff. It doesn't matter to me, Maura. I don't care who your parents are or what they did or didn't do." She swallowed. "You are fine just the way you are. Wherever you came from isn't going to change that."

Maura heaved a sigh. "Do you really think that?" She didn't break the eye contact. "That I am fine the way I am?" When Jane nodded she moved a little closer. Her voice became softer and deeper and suddenly Jane could see everything that Maura had wanted to say, everything Maura had wanted to know. It was right there, in her eyes. Tentatively Maura searched for Jane's hand. "Even if being the way I am means that I am in love with you, Jane?"

Jane swallowed hard as she remembered the moment in Central Park when Maura's lips had brushed against her own. What she had felt in that moment was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Jane Rizzoli didn't fall in love. Sure, she had loved people but she couldn't remember ever having been in love. That earth shattering, soul destroying and yet uplifting and invigorating feeling that changed a person's entire being. The horribly romantic stories she saw in magazines about people describing falling head over heels in love, those overly sweet stories about love at first sight, she had never believed that one day it would be like that for her. But Maura had changed everything. Her perceptions had changed the minute she had laid eyes on her. She herself had changed. Sometimes the best and most beautiful things find you when you are too busy looking for something else.

"Yes," she breathed and looked down at Maura's thumb rubbing gently across the scars left behind by Hoyt. This was where old met new, where happiness met pain. She looked back up to find Maura still looking at her, a lonely tear now sliding halfway down her cheek. "Yes."

She didn't know who moved in first but their lips met somewhere in the middle. The first thing she felt was the desire to move away, to run away. It was what she had always done, after everything she had been through her first instinct was always to leave. But the next thing she felt, when Maura's hands closed over her own, was a sense of safety she had believed to be long gone. Her eyes fluttered shut and slowly her hands slipped up from under Maura's and found their way into the medical examiner's honey blonde hair.

When they eventually parted, Jane rested her forehead against Maura's and slowly inhaled. When her eyes opened she found Maura doing the same and she smiled. Her hand cupped the other woman's cheek. "I didn't see this coming."

"Sometimes it is better when you don't," Maura whispered. Her hand once again covered Jane's and although she could feel the scars under her fingers, she did not focus on them.

Jane looked into Maura's eyes. Now that she was so close she could truly see their beautiful shades of green and brown combined. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. "Have you ever done this before?"

"Kissed another woman, you mean?" Maura asked and Jane gave a quick nod. "Would you be upset if I told you I have?"

Jane shook her head. "No. But it wasn't what I meant."

"It wasn't?" Maura asked, suddenly a little confused. "Then what did you mean, Jane?"

Jane smiled, suddenly aware of that warm tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her dark eyes lightened as she words fell from her lips. "Falling in love."

Maura's hand slipped up from Jane's hand, up her arm and eventually reached the detectives face. Her thumb followed the curve of Jane's lips and she smiled. "No." The answer was pure and honest. "I don't think I have."

Jane smiled. "Then it is a first for both of us."

~()~

She woke when the morning sunlight filtered through the partially open bedroom curtains and warmed her face. As she rolled over she became aware of the soft and warm body lying next to her and Jane slowly sat up. A smile fell over her face when she saw Maura still soundly asleep. The medical examiner lay on her back, with her head turned towards Jane. Her honey blonde hair lay sprawled out across the pillow and the duvet only covered her from the waist down, exposing the grey Boston PD shirt she had borrowed of Jane to sleep in.

Her mind wandered back to the previous night. They had gone to bed not long after their first kiss and Jane had settled in Maura's arms, her head resting against the other woman's chest whilst listening to her heartbeat. It was the most comforting sound she had ever heard. When she had fallen asleep she didn't know. All she knew was what she had slept through the night, free of nightmares, free of Hoyt.

"What time is it?" Maura asked as her eyes slowly opened and she shielded herself from the sun. She looked up to find Jane staring down at her. "Jane?"

"Just after seven," Jane smiled.

"What?" Maura suddenly sat bolt upright. "Oh dear! I am usually up for half past five." She looked slightly bewildered. "My body clock always wakes me at the same time. I don't even need an alarm."

Jane smirked. "I think your body clock needs a new battery."

Maura pulled a face. "Very funny, Jane." She stretched herself, allowing Jane a perfectly clear view of her the swell of her breasts underneath her shirt. When she lowered her arms and spotted the detective's bemused face, she shyly smiled. "I do feel rested, though."

"Good," Jane said and leant in, pecking Maura somewhere between her cheek and her hairline. She them jumped out of bed and padded across the room to the bathroom. "I'll take the first shower. There's coffee in the kitchen!"

Maura shook her head whilst smiling to herself but when she heard the shower being switched on she slipped out of bed too and walked into the kitchen where she found the jar of instant coffee in the same cupboard as Jane's favourite cereal. She made two steaming cups of coffee and took them back into the bedroom. Jane emerged from the bathroom wearing only a dark blue towel. Her eyes lit up when she spotted Maura sitting in the middle of the bed in lotus position, clutching her coffee cup.

"I could get used to this," she smiled as she picked up her own cup. When Maura arched an eyebrow she added, "Waking up with you, I mean."

"Me too," Maura said. "But you're going to have to buy better coffee."

~()~

They arrived at BPD just after eight. Maura took the elevator down to the morgue and Jane found Korsak and Frost already at their desk. Jane hopefully lifted up the lid from the pastry box that stood on the side of Korsak's desk and picked her favourite from the large collection. As her teeth sank in the sugar coated bun she turned to look at her partner. "Got anything yet?"

"Waiting for those files from New York," he said. "Oh, and Dr Pike sent his autopsy after you went home yesterday."

"I'll get Maura to double check it," Jane said as she flicked through the pages. Nothing struck her as different from the first crime scene. Her gaze lingered a little longer on some of the autopsy pictures and picked up the one that had captured the necklace that was found with the victim. "I don't trust that guy."

"I drove by your place last night on my way home to drop it off," Frost said from behind his desk and Jane's eyes snapped up. "Wasn't that the doc's car I saw parked outside your building?"

She had never blushed in her life but now her cheeks turned a dark shade of scarlet and she quickly turned around to walk back to her desk. "Shut up, Frost."

"Oh, someone's a little sharp this morning," Frost teased and Jane glared at him.

"Be careful, Frost, or I'll be using something sharp on you!"

"OK, knock it off you two," Korsak laughed. "Jane, have you got the files from New York?"

She had logged into her email and spotted Alex's email about halfway down. She opened the attachment and hit print. The printer across the room started buzzing and by the time she had walked over to it, it had printed out several pieces of paper. She walked back to Frost and Korsak and perched herself on the older detective's desk.

"Well, some of those sickos reproduced," Jane said as she flicked through the pages. "One of the dead guys, John Metcalf, has three daughters by three different women. I guess that rules him out." She scanned further down the page. "One of the guys that's still alive has a son. Timothy Henderson was married to a woman named Maria until she died in 2007. Their son Jimmy Henderson was born in 1981." She looked up at Korsak. "Fits the profile and he's about the right age."

Korsak nodded and wrote the name down in his notebook. "Any others?"

"Two more men had sons. They were all ruled out as original suspects because their alibis were tight," Jane said and studied the paperwork. "David Rogers had twin sons, Stephen and Michael, born in 1989." She swallowed. "Stephen died in a car accident three years ago in Michigan and Michael is a medical student in Los Angeles, California." She sighed. "We'll check but somehow I'm not feeling it."

"Who's the other guy?" Korsak asked. "You said there were two."

Jane nodded. "Lionel McKenzie had a son with his first wife, Vivian. Logan was born in 1985." She put the paperwork down and turned to look at Frost. "Can you put these names in a nationwide search, see if anything comes up?"

"Sure," he said and reached across the desk to take the papers. "Why?"

"Just a hunch," Jane said slowly. "All of this is based on what they found in the State of New York. I want to know if there is any chance any of these men had a child somewhere else."

"I thought you said they didn't travel?"

"They didn't," Jane said and winked. "Doesn't mean some woman didn't either."

"You think a woman may have had a child with one of these men in another state?" Korsak asked and Jane shrugged. "How would you know?"

"I don't," Jane sighed. "But we have to try, otherwise we've got nothing." She picked up the autopsy report and headed for the door. Frost called her back.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to show this to Maura," she said as she waved the report over her head. "Knowing Pike, it's probably got more mistakes than a monkey's attempt to write Shakespeare!"

~()~

Jane pushed the door to the morgue open and found Maura standing by the aluminium table, dressed in black scrubs and purple gloves whilst gently letting the blade of her scalpel slide through her latest victim's chest. She grabbed a mouth mask from the shelf nearest to her when she realised that the victim on the table was a floater and their stomach had expended significantly. The smell that would release itself into the room was going to be anything but nice. She had only just covered her nose and mouth when Maura reached the abdomen and as the scalpel cut through the layers of skin, fat and muscle, a repugnant smell filtered into the autopsy room.

"My God!" Jane coughed and even though she wore a protective mask, she covered her face with her arm. "Maybe you should stick a notice on the door whenever you do cases like this!"

Maura chuckled and put down her scalpel. "I wasn't expecting anyone."

Jane arched an eyebrow. "Not even me?"

Maura's eyes twinkled and she walked away from the autopsy table and headed for her office. Jane followed and removed the mask from her face before gulping in the cool, fresh air. She then walked up to Maura and nuzzled her nose in the back of the other woman's neck. "You smell of my shampoo."

Maura turned slightly to look at name. "I do for now."

Jane wrinkled her nose. "Soon you'll stink of death. Speaking of which…" She gave Maura the file. "Pike handed this in last night. Looks a bit haphazard to me. I don't get why anyone lets that him hold a scalpel, let alone use one!"

Maura studied the body chart and the included pictures. "It is surprisingly accurate," she concluded after reading the descriptions. "Pike mentioned he found no traces of DNA but that bleach was detected too. Looks like our killer did a better job at cleaning up this time." She looked up from the file and her eyes met Jane's. "Did you find anything in the information sent from New York?"

"Maybe," Jane sighed as she leant against Maura's desk. "One of the suspects had a son that fits the picture. Frost is putting all the names in a nationwide search. Who knows what we might find." She took a deep breath. "Did you see the second body?"

"I think it's still in the freezer. It's been released to the family but they aren't able to collect it until tomorrow evening," Maura said and checked the stats on her desk. "You wanna see her?"

Jane nodded and they walked out of the office and back into the autopsy room. The stench was revolting and Jane covered her nose and mouth with her hand whereas Maura continued breathing normally. They reached the storage room, or freezer, and Jane watched how Maura double checked the number written on one of the metal doors before opening the one to her right. She pulled the slab out and once it was fully out she slowly folded back the white sheet that covered the person on it.

"What's her name?" Jane whispered softly as she studied the victim's face. She was pale and cold to the touch and her red hair was a sharp contrast against the soft tones of her skin. She couldn't be any other than twenty-five, Jane thought. Several butterfly tattoos wound their way up around her upper arm to her shoulder. The white sheet covered a large part of the Y-incision but Jane could see the stitches just underneath the collarbone. Violated in life, violated in death.

"Sarah Willows," Maura said as she checked the toe tag.

"I'll go check with Evidence to see that necklace," Jane said as Maura slowly pushed the slab back in to the freezer and closed the door. "Didn't you say that Swarovski is expensive?"

Maura nodded. "The necklace that we found on Vicky Lynch is definitely part of a larger collection."

Jane gave the medical examiner a sideways glance. She pointed at the body on the other side of the room. "How about you leave Mr Stinky over there for Pike to finish off and you come jewellery shopping with me?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

I am currently incapacitated with a bad back, forced to lie down or sit up surrounded by pillows. I am waiting to see my doctor tomorrow to see what on Earth I've done to myself. Anyway, lying down and sitting up makes time for writing. Sorry about the delay but it took me a while to get this going again. Enjoy this chapter, which may answer some questions. Also, someone suggestedthat by now the FBI would have been involved. I was recently reading The Surgeon (the first book in the series) and throughout the hunt for The Surgeon, Boston PD did not contact the FBI. They handled the case involving a serial killer without federal help. It is the main reason I did not add the FBI into this story.

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**Chapter 12**

Jane made a mental note to never _ever_ ask Maura Isles to go shopping with her again. The woman had an amazing eye for detail as well as the annoying habit of pointing out pieces of jewellery she found beautiful. Jane would find most of those pieces downright ugly. However Maura did come in handy when it came to talking to the jewellery store owners, none of whom seemed too keen on having a detective in a simple pantsuit standing in their expensive shop but Maura, with her designer dress, fitted right in and the men and women were more than eager to talk to her, smelling a potential costumer.

"Well, that was enlightening," Jane growled as she parked the car in her favourite spot in front of BPD.

"You think so?" Maura piped up, eyes glistening. "I'm glad you think so because there are some interesting.."

"Maura, stop," Jane said and the medical examiner fell silent. "Remind me to give you some basic lessons in sarcasm before I take you anywhere else."

"Jane," Maura said softly and the dark haired detective looked at her. The small pout on Maura's lips was simply endearing and she couldn't resist leaning in to kiss it. The touch of Maura's lips against her own was soft and warm and Jane had to mentally restrain herself from pushing too far. They were in a public place, right in front of the precinct. She smiled.

"Now I have found an effective way to shut you up."

Maura arched an eyebrow. "Very funny, Jane."

She got out of the car and the two of them walked back into the BPD. Jane got herself a coffee from the cafeteria and Maura politely refused her offer to buy her a pastry, saying something about sugar and wheat but none of it stuck. They took the elevator back to Homicide and met up with Korsak and Frost. The latter looked bright and energetic whereas the former looked tired and grumpy.

"What's up with him?" Jane mouthed, pointing at her former partner.

Frost shrugged. "Midlife crisis?"

"I heard that," Korsak growled. "Anything on the jewellery?"

"Nothing. They all confirmed it is part of a greater collection but no one remembers selling the items in question to a young man," Jane said as she slumped down behind her desk.

"Bad posture," Maura pointed out. "Slouching causes the ribs to compress and your spine to curve. The cage of the ribs becomes rigged and inflexible and keeps your lungs from expanding fully. This creates a lack of oxygen that impacts your entire system from your skin to your heart and other organs."

"Thanks, Maura," Jane said with a smile and looked back at Frost. "Anything on the search?"

"Timothy Henderson's son, Jimmy, is currently doing time for possession with intend to sell," Frost said. "He'll be enjoying the state provided accommodation for another eighteen months."

Jane heaved a sigh. "Shit. And I thought he looked good for it."

"It gets worse," Frost said. "Michael the medical student is still in California. I spoke to his dad and the university and he hasn't left campus for the last week. Last time his dad spoke to him was nearly two weeks ago." He shuffled his paperwork. "Logan McKenzie is currently serving in the US Marine Corps and will be deployed to Afghanistan next week. He has been undergoing last minute training in Virginia." He put the sheet down. "That rules out all of our old suspects with kids."

"Jane, shouldn't we get the FBI involved in this?" Maura asked but Jane's dark eyes snapped up, blazing with anger. "We're looking for a serial killer."

"No!" Jane exclaimed sharply and Maura seemed momentarily taken aback by the fierce display of defensiveness. "The Feds are only in it for their own gain, looking to score points and make the Bureau look better. Besides, we caught the Surgeon without their help." Jane looked at Frost, who nodded in affirmation, smile playing around his lips. "We don't need the FBI on this. We can do this ourselves."

"Okay," Maura said softly. "No FBI. But you have got to admit that this isn't looking good, Jane."

"Thanks for the observation," Jane groaned and looked across the room at Frost. "Did you put the names in the computer?"

"I did but I am not sure what you're expecting to find, Jane. I mean..." Frost's voice trailed off and his gaze was drawn back to his computer screen. "Well, I'll be damned."

"What?" Jane asked as she jumped out of her chair and crossed the distance between her work station and Frost's. "What did you find?"

Frost turned the computer screen towards her and Jane felt her breath choke in the back of her throat. One named flashed across the screen, singled out from thousands of files that had been entered into this system every single year. There were birth certificates, death certificates, drives licenses, and any other form of official paperwork that could identify a person. The name pulsated on the screen in a similar rhythm as Jane's heartbeat. _Thomas Graham._

"Thomas Graham was the paranoid schizophrenic," Maura remembered and Jane looked up. "He was the one who was found hanging in his cell." She rubbed her temple. "The paperwork never said he had a child."

"Because he didn't know," Jane said and pointed at the birth certificate on the screen. "His son, Ryan, was born after he killed himself." She looked at Frost. "Who's his mother and where does she live?"

"Louise Wyatt," Frost said as he hit the print button on his computer and the printer across the room started buzzing. "Lives in Houston, Texas"

"I hope she doesn't have a problem with long distance calls," Jane said as she walked to the printer, took the paperwork and found the phone number. She looked back up to find Maura's gaze lingering on her. The medical examiner smiled. Jane held up her mobile. "Fancy trying out your best Southern accent?"

She and Maura went down to the Maura's office where things were quiet. Jane's fingers trembled slightly as she dialed the number and waited as the phone rang on the other side. Her heart pounded in her throat and adrenaline pumped through her veins like it always did when she felt they were about to make a break. She had solved hundreds of cases but this one nagged her, irritated her. She was about to hang up when a woman answered on the other side of the line.

"Hello?"

"Louise Wyatt?" Jane asked and the woman confirmed she was indeed the woman Jane was looking for. "Hi, I'm Jane Rizzoli, Boston Homicide. I am sorry to bother you but I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions?"

"Please tell me you found my son."

Jane looked bewildered. "Sorry?" She put the phone down on Maura's desk and hit the loudspeaker button "Miss Wyatt, you're on speaker. Doctor Maura Isles is in the room with me. Could you please repeat what you just asked me?"

"Have you found my son?" asked Louise Wyatt."Have you found Ryan?"

"Your son is missing?" Maura asked in surprise and her hazel eyes met Jane's. Suddenly she saw the fear in the detective's eyes. Jane had thought she'd hit home but now it looked like she was nowhere. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Four months ago," answered Louise Wyatt. Her strong Texan accent laced her words. Maura imagined a Southern blonde, wearing jeans and a checked shirt. Strange how a voice could bring an image to a person's mind. "He is not a bad boy, detective Rizzoli, honest."

"No one says he is, ma'am," Jane answered and reached for a piece of paper and a pen on Maura's desk. The medical examiner followed her moves with a curious look. "But we would really like to know when the last time was you saw Ryan."

"He left our house about four months ago for a trip to Boston," Louise explained. "He said he would only be gone for a week or so. He said one of his old school friends had moved up to Massachusetts and he wanted to visit him. He called a couple of times that first week, then again a week later to say he was staying a little longer and then... it stopped. No more calls."

"Miss Wyatt, I am going to have to ask you some difficult questions," Jane said and she could hear the other woman suppress a sob on the other side of the line. "About Ryan." She looked up at Maura and recognized the tension in her face. "We found you and Ryan by searching for his biological father, Thomas Graham." Another gasp. "Does Ryan know who his father was?"

"He found out last year," Louise answered. The sound of a television programmed filtered through and Jane imagined the woman pacing around her house, phone in hand. The TV was turned down. "He had been asking questions for a while. I couldn't lie to him anymore. He was old enough to know the truth."

Jane scribbled the information down on the paper and Maura grasped the pen from her hand and wrote down one word. _Schizophrenia. _She looked up at Jane with wide eyes, pressuring her to ask the question. When Jane seemed unsure she wrote down a few more things underneath. The list grew longer as she carried on.

"Ma'am, did Ryan act differently than normal when you saw him last?" Jane asked carefully. Her hand covered Maura's as the honey blonde put the pen down. The touch of her hand was soft. "Was he perhaps more suspicious, did he seem distracted? Sleeping more or less than normal? Could he have been distant towards you?"

"He seemed more withdrawn in the last few weeks before he left. I thought it was because his relationship had ended but when I saw his ex girlfriend, Sheena, she said that Ryan had been the one to end it," Louise answered. "For the first time she told me what had been happening to him. She had wanted to protect him. But she told me about the voices he heard, how scared he was. How scared he made her."

"What happened?" Jane whispered.

"Sheena said that Ryan got angry one night, for no apparent reason. Almost attacked her. Then he just left. She didn't see him again after that," Louise said softly and Jane could detect the tears in her voice. "He stayed in his room a lot. Locked it, wouldn't let me in. Then one day he came down the stairs and said he'd gotten back in touch with an old school friend and he was going to go to Boston for a week or so, to clear his head. With everything that had happened, I thought he was doing the right thing."

"You did what you thought was best for Ryan," Maura said and Jane looked up at the sudden warmth in the medical examiner's eyes. "You wanted him to find himself again, feel better."

"What can you tell us about Ryan's father, Thomas Graham?" Jane asked.

"I met him when I worked in New York. It didn't last long. I had been sent out to cover for my boss in some conference that lasted a week. I met Thomas one night in a bar," Louise answered. "He was kind and gentle and we met again the next night. I had never been out with an older man but he seemed different then. Weary, like he was expecting someone to jump out at him. We met every night that week and then I left. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant with Ryan. One careless night in New York had its consequences."

Jane looked at Maura. "What can you tell us about Graham? Did you tell him he had a son?"

"I tried contacting him on the phone number he gave me but it was disconnected. A year after Ryan was born, I met my husband. He adopted Ryan and we got married soon after. I know Ryan wasn't his son but he might as well have been. Aaron never treated Ryan any different from his brother and sister," Louise sighed. "Why all the questions, detective Rizzoli? Did something happen to my son?"

"I am not quite sure how to tell you this, ma'am," Jane said slowly, "but I am sorry to have to tell you that Graham Thomas, the father of your son, died several years ago in New York. He was found hanged in his room in a psychiatric hospital. Graham Thomas was a known paranoid schizophrenic."

"Oh my God," Louise whispered and her voice broke. "He never told me."

"Some paranoid schizophrenics are aware of their disease but do not share it with others because they are denying that what is happening is something bad or dangerous," Maura said. "It is likely he did not tell you for those reasons. Or perhaps he wasn't aware of his illness."

"I read somewhere that schizophrenia can be genetically decided," Louise said and Maura's eyes found Jane's. The woman had beat them to their ultimate conclusion. "Is that what you're trying to tell me, Detective Rizzoli? That my son is a paranoid schizophrenic who ran off to Boston and then went off the grid?"

"Those with a first degree relative who suffers from schizophrenia are far more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than the general populace," Maura said. "It is very likely that Ryan indeed inherited his father's schizophrenia and he is in the right age group for the symptoms to manifest themselves."

"If he was looking for answers, why did he not go to New York?" Louise said slowly. "It was where Graham was from."

"Maybe he already found the answers," Jane said slowly and she picked up the pen, drawing simple circles on the piece of paper. She felt anxious about sharing the next bit of information "Miss Wyatt, back in the seventies, Graham Thomas was a prime suspect in several murders committed in New York. In fact, they were the work of a serial killer."

Louise Wyatt didn't answer and Jane leant in a little closer to the phone on the desk. "Miss Wyatt? We really need to find your son, Ryan. I know you haven't spoken to him for months but if there is anytinh you can tells us that will help us find him..."

"I'm sorry, detective," Louise answered. "I don't think there is anything I can do to help you. Not from here anyway. If you want I can book a flight to Boston? I can bring some of Ryan's personal belongings. His notebooks and his drawings. He kept all of them in his room."

Maura nodded feverishly and Jane agreed. "Okay. I'll see to it someone will meet you at Logan Airport. Did you get my number?"

"Yes, it came up on the caller ID," Louise answered.

"Call me if you change your mind or need anything or if there's something you remember," Jane said and she looked at Maura. "I'll look forward to meeting you, Miss Wyatt." They ended the conversation and Jane ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't believe this."

"The chances of this happening are unimaginable, Jane," Maura said slowly. "Genetically decided schizophrenia isn't uncommon but it seems that Ryan was more like his father than we thought. Not only did he inherit his schizophrenia, he also inherited the part of him that killed those women. Whatever train of thought triggered that part of his delusions, Ryan's got it too. " She heaved a sigh. "I know they couldn't prove it back then but..."

"Graham Thomas was the original killer in New York," Jane finished Maura's sentence. "So we have our answer so why do I feel so shit?"

"Because there is a very sick young man out there who's murdering young women because he cannot control his disease," Maura said softly and put a hand on Jane's shoulder before leaning in and kissing the top of her hand. "We need to find Ryan. For his own safety."

Jane sighed. "And for the safety of every woman out there."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note**: Here is another chapter. Nearly done with this story. I want to write at least one more chapter and bring the last few pieces together. I am a sucker for drama and as I wrote this I couldn't stop thinking about how I would love to see it in the series (Rizzles aside). I had the idea for a little while and it was just too good, too emotional not to write. Anyway, enjoy. Hopefully it eases some of the pain of the summer hiatus.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Ryan Wyatt had become the most wanted man in Boston as well as the whole of Massachusetts. His picture had been sent to every police station across the state and every department was looking out for him. There wasn't a single cop in the state who didn't know who Ryan Wyatt was and his picture would be released to all the news stations for the eight o'clock news that night.

Jane sat at her desk, cradling her head in her hands. A plastic bottle of aspirin and half a glass of water stood in front of her. She had taken the pills fifteen minutes ago but still there was no sign of the headache shifting anytime soon.

"Hey," Maura said softly and placed a hand on Jane's shoulder. She had left her morgue with the intention of going home but when she saw Jane's car still parked in its usual spot she had gone back inside to look for the detective. "Why don't you go home?"

"I can't," Jane groaned. "If I leave now I'll miss the eight o'clock news and I want to see Ryan's face on that screen. And Louise Wyatt should be landing at Logan..." She glanced down at her watch. "...right about now and Korsak's offered to pick her up. I don't know why she wants to come here immediately."

"She just wants her son back, Jane," Maura said.

"She is never going to get him back," Jane sighed and rubbed her eyes. They were dry and sore and her body craved sleep, caffeine and greasy pizza. "He is a paranoid schizophrenic who has killed two women and if we don't catch him he is going to kill even more."

Maura leant in and planted her lips on Jane's forehead. "Shall I order pizza from that place down the block?"

Jane looked up. "You don't eat grease."

"I do tonight." Maura put her jacket down on Jane's desk. "If you're staying, I'm staying."

Jane sheepishly smiled. "Keep going like this, Doctor Isles, and I might just fall in love with you." She leant in to steal another kiss and Maura happily responded. When they parted Jane's eyes twinkled. "Pepperoni and extra cheese. That's my favourite."

"It hasn't got any vegetables on it!" Maura protested but Jane just glared at her. "Okay, okay! One heart attack in a box coming up!"

Frost came walking into the department and said, "Turn on the news!"

Maura, who was closest to the TV unit, walked over to it and pressed the button. The screen remained black for a few more seconds and then it switched on. Almost immediately Jane recognised the drawling voice of the woman on Chanel Six News and she groaned. Of all the channels to pick it happened to be the one she hated the most. But her frustration flooded away when she looked up and saw Ryan Wyatt's photo plastered across her screen as the newsreader explained that he was wanted for questioning by Boston police.

"Frost, call Frankie and tell him we can use an extra set of hands up here," Jane said and Frost nodded before picking up the phone. "Maura, how good are you at answering the phone?" When Maura gave her a quizzical look Jane laughed. "Things are about to get real crazy here. Go and get that pizza and make sure to bring some diet coke too. You just got yourself signed up for the nightshift."

~()~

Jane hadn't been wrong. It was just after midnight and Maura hung up the phone, writing down the details of yet another bat shit crazy old lady who was convinced Ryan Wyatt was her grandson. When she looked up, her fingers tangled in her now messy hair, she found Jane absentmindedly staring at something in the distance whilst pretending to listen to the person on the other side of the line.

Some of the tips they got were useful but most of them were just downright insane. Some guy suggested that Ryan Wyatt was a terrorist hired by the US government. A psychic who sounded like he had been smoking a crack pipe said he had seen it in the stars that Ryan would be found tomorrow morning, somewhere near water. After that it just went from bad to worse and Maura would be perfectly happy if she never had to answer another phone call again.

"I think it's time to call it a night," Jane groaned after she hung up the phone and met Maura's gaze. The medical examiner looked tired. "Hey Frost, what's the latest on Korsak?"

"Flight only just landed. Apparently there was an issue back in Houston. Doubt they'll be coming here tonight," Frost sighed and stifled a yawn. "Fresh start tomorrow morning?"

"And loads of coffee," Jane answered and glanced at the pile of paperwork that indicated the amount of tips they had received since the news broadcast four hours earlier. Ever since then Ryan Wyatt's face had been all over the news every single hour. "We're going to need plenty of caffeine if we want to separate the crazy idiots from the ones that actually make sense."

"Come," Maura said and handed Jane her jacket. "We'll go to my place tonight."

"What's wrong with my apartment?" Jane questioned, suddenly aware that Frost and Frankie were listening in. Though she suspected they had guessed she and Maura were a little more than colleagues by now, she didn't want them gossiping behind her back. Not just yet, anyway. "You didn't have a problem with it before."

"Humour me, Jane. And don't argue," Maura said, raising a finger in Jane's face. The dark haired detective blinked and then smiled. Maura's hazel green eyes glistened with amusement.

"Okay Doctor Dictator," Jane grinned and snatched her keys off her desk. "But I'm driving."

They didn't get to Maura's place till almost one in the morning and Jane believed she would have actually fallen asleep standing up if Maura hadn't suggested they'd go straight to bed. She had stripped off her pants and jacket and climbed into bed wearing just her underwear and tank top. Maura changed into one of her silk pyjamas, something that brought a smile to Jane's face. When she felt the medical examiner slip under the duvet beside her, Jane felt her insides relax. She turned to look at Maura.

"I could get used to this, you know," she smiled. When Maura arched an eyebrow she added, "Sleeping next to you, I mean. It feels good."

"I could get used to it too," Maura whispered and moved in to kiss Jane goodnight.

By the time Maura had settled down to go to sleep, Jane was still smiling. The smile never faded, even when she slept.

~()~

They woke early the next morning and Maura made them a healthy breakfast and coffee. They were both tired but the thought that they could find Ryan Wyatt gave them the energy to start again. Jane sipped from the coffee Maura had made her as she watched the honey blonde walk around her kitchen. She enjoyed the sight of Maura just being herself, in the comfort of her own home, doing the things she would do at the start of any other day.

Jane's phone vibrated and she checked it. It was a text message from Frost. _Things going down in Dorchester._

"Maura, we gotta go!" Jane said and swallowed the rest of her coffee. It burnt down her throat but she ignored the pain. She grabbed the other woman's arm and Maura looked up in surprise. "Come on!"

"Where are we going?" Maura asked in surprise.

"Dorchester. Frost says something's happening there," Jane explained. "Whatever it is, it must be important, otherwise Frost wouldn't text this early."

"Does he have a scanner?" Maura asked as they walked down her drive to Jane's sedan. Jane furrowed her brow at that question and Maura clarified herself. "How else would he know something's going on?"

"You don't know how quick news travels amongst cops, do you?" Jane said as she got in the car and started the engine. Maura buckled up and Jane put the car in reverse before hitting the gas. The tyres screeched as she left Maura's house and turned right at the end of the road to head to Dorchester.

~()~

The street was cordoned off on either side and at least a dozen police cars were parked in various angles across the road. Jane lost count at fifteen when looking at the uniformed police officers. They were swarming the streets and the building across the street. Several officers had drawn their guns and one of them had a megaphone. When Jane got out of the car she spotted Korsak and Frost outside the police lines, flashing their badges to gain entrance.

"Hey," Jane said when she caught up with them. The clicking of heels told her Maura was not far behind her. Frost looked up and Jane spotted the signs of tiredness in his face. He was clutching a Starbucks styrofoam cup. "What's going on?"

"Someone spotted Ryan Wyatt early this morning," Korsak said. "He said he's been living in this building for maybe the last two or three weeks. Doesn't talk to anyone, keeps to himself. Woman who lives across the hall says he's inside, screaming abuse. Officers have evacuated the building. Ryan Wyatt is considered armed and dangerous."

"Which means they will shoot to kill," Jane sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Where's his mother?"

"I sent a uniform to pick her up. If she can get through to him..."

"Do we know what his mental state is?" Maura asked.

"Agitated, according to the neighbour. He has been screaming abuse at the other residents and earlier this morning he stood in the hallway shouting about the Armies of Satan, the government conspiracies. At some point he was seen hitting a wall, claiming they had eyes," Korsak answered. "Sounds crazy to me."

"He's suffering an acute psychosis," Maura said. "At this moment in time I don't think anything or anyone will get through to him. It would be best for him if he is taken to a safe place, like a hospital, and given an emergency anti-psychotic. Often, once treated, schizophrenics become more coherent."

"Is he dangerous?" Jane asked, fixing her dark brown eyes on Maura

The medical examiner swallowed. "At this moment in time Ryan is unaware of what's real and what isn't so yes, he is very dangerous."

Jane looked back at the apartment complex. It was old and in desperate need of updating. Most of the windows were covered in grime and the garbage cans outside were overflowing. Bricks were missing out of the walls and one of the windows on the ground floor had been boarded up. Broken glass still littered the street. She imagined that inside the place didn't look much better. She had been in buildings like these plenty of times. Crack houses. The halls would probably be littered with drug paraphernalia and the walls were most likely covered in mould.

"This isn't going to end well," she said softly and looked at Maura. "I want to talk to him."

"No way!" Korsak objected. "Jane, you can't go in there. We're going to have to wait for him to come out or at least wait till Louise Wyatt gets here. If you go in there, you're signing his death sentence as well as your own!"

Jane clenched and then relaxed her fists and rubbed the scars on the back of her hands. "I just wish there was something we could do. I feel so useless." She sighed and looked helplessly at Maura. "I know Ryan has done something terrible but I can't stop thinking about how he couldn't help himself. He's sick. He's sick because his father was sick. He can't help what he became."

"Schizophrenia is a horrible disease," Maura said quietly. "Ryan became a victim of his father's genes."

"I think Louise is here," Frost said and Jane looked up to see a police car pull up just outside the cordon. A uniformed officer got out and opened the passenger door. Jane's eyes narrowed as a blonde haired woman got out. She seemed scared and shaky and Jane quickly took Maura's hand and started walking towards Louise Wyatt. Upon reaching the woman she could see the fear in her eyes and Jane felt suddenly guilty for bringing her out here and having to witness this.

"Louise Wyatt?" Jane asked and the woman looked up when she recognised the voice she had heard over. "I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli. We spoke on the phone? This is Doctor Maura Isles. I wish we could have met under better circumstances and I am sorry that you have to see this."

"He's in there? Ryan, I mean. He's inside?" Louise asked and Jane nodded.

"Yes. He appears to be suffering from an acute psychosis and is currently considered armed and dangerous by police. He is incoherent and rambling about conspiracy theories and religion," Jane said softly. "We are hoping this is going to end soon, in a way that leaves all parties satisfied." She didn't want to say that she was afraid the whole thing was going to end in a shoot out.

Louise's hands were shaking. "I-I brought his notebooks and his drawings," she said and reached into her bag. She retrieved several worn looking drawing books and several notepads. When she gave them to Jane she suddenly felt like she was being granted a rare insight into the mind of a young man developing schizophrenia. She handed some of the books to Maura and felt her breath hitch when she opened the book in her own hands. It was one drawing after another. All were well detailed yet messy and depicted strange scenes. Jane couldn't remember ever seeing anything like it before.

"How old are these?" Maura asked after flicking through some of the handwritten pages in the notebook. "Every page consists of different stories. None of them make much sense. But the handwriting changes the further along you get. It is relatively neat and tidy at first and then..." Maura showed Jane the last few pages. "...they start to look like this."

The words were big, with only four or five taking up a line. In some places the pen had pierced through the paper. It reminded Jane somewhat of the handwriting of a child.

"Jane!" Korsak suddenly shouted and Jane looked over her shoulder. He called her name again and something about his voice made her reach down for her gun. Her slender fingers removed it from its holster and she instinctively pushed Maura away from her. The medical examiner already covered her head with her hands. It happened so quickly and yet suddenly time seemed to move in slow motion. By the time her eyes had fixed on the building the first gunshot had already rung out. The sound continued to echo on and on and on.

Ryan Wyatt had come outside, waving a large kitchen knife. A police officer called for him to drop the knife but Ryan didn't respond to his request. The command was repeated but when Ryan started down the steps from the house, the first shot was fired. Ryan's voice still carried on even now that his body tumbled to the floor. The knife slipped from his fingers and slid down the last step. His head bounced off the pavement and his eyes rolled back in his head. The bullets had pierced his body and blood seeped from the holes that they left behind.

"Oh my God," Jane whispered and lowered her gun. The tears sprung in her eyes and she rushed forward, lifting up the police tape. From all around her officers came running, still with their guns drawn. Jane was one of the first to reach Ryan and she dropped to her knees. Desperately she tried to stop the bleeding from his chest but there were too many holes and too much blood.

She looked up when Maura fell to her knees beside her and attempted to apply pressure to the bleeding wounds. Her hazel eyes met Jane's and she could see that Maura was only trying to make Ryan comfortable. There were too many bullets and there was too much blood. A ragged breath made both women look at his face. Ryan's eyes were still open.

"Hold on," Jane whispered. "Please, just hold on."

"Ryan?" It was Louise.

"Shit!" Jane hissed. "She wasn't supposed to be here. She shouldn't have seen this. Someone get her out of here!"

"Let her see him, Jane," Maura whispered. "Look at him, Jane. He isn't going to survive this. At least let her see her son one last time while he is alive. She is never going to forget this moment, regardless of what we do and regardless of what happens. She is his mother."

Louise sank down onto the ground beside them and reached out to touch Ryan's face. He turned towards her when her fingers brushed across his cheek and Maura saw how his eyes widened slightly. He tried to speak but no words came out. His lips moved but he couldn't speak. Louise brushed some hair out of his eyes and leant in, kissing his forehead. Then she put her hand on his chest, just above Maura's, and felt his heartbeat fade under her fingers as silent tears streamed down her face.

"Maybe it is better this way, my darling son," Louise whispered. "You have suffered so much already. This disease was never going to let you win. You were a victim. You didn't choose for this to happen. You have been so brave. Whatever you did, whatever happened, I will always love you. You are so beautiful." The tears fell from Louise's cheek onto Maura's hands. "Rest now, my child. Rest now."

Maura glanced at Jane. "He's gone."

Jane slowly pulled her hands off Ryan's chest and sat back, her gaze fixed on the young man's face. Tears glistened in her eyes. Maura slowly removed her own hands and moved closer to Jane. They watched as Louise continued to caress her son's face, the tears still silently falling from her eyes.

The rest unfolded in a blur. The coroner came and they carefully prepared Ryan to be moved. Louise watched from the sideline, her arms wrapped around herself. Korsak had wrapped his arm around her shoulder but the blonde woman seemed withdrawn and stoic. The tears had dried but they had left behind burning red marks across her cheeks.

Jane and Maura watched in silence as Ryan's body was loaded into the van. Their bloodied hands linked together and Jane looked down when she felt Maura squeeze.

"I didn't want it to end this way," she whispered. A lone tear chased down her cheek.

"I know," Maura said softly. "But it was never going to have a happy ending. Things like this never do."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: **I wanted to write one last chapter to finish this story off, sort of like the final scene we always seem to get at the end of an episode. Maura and Jane needed to reflect on what happened as well as reflect on themselves. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and kind words. I hope you have enjoyed Serendipity. ~Cissy

* * *

**Chapter 14**

They sat on the couch together, Jane wearing a pair of sweat pants and a BPD t-shirt and Maura dressed in her black yoga pants and an off shoulder cream coloured top. A blanket covered their legs and the credits of some dodgy chick flick rolled across the TV screen. Two empty glasses stood on the table next to a half empty bottle of red wine. Neither of them spoke. Most of the evening had been spent in mutual silence as they both tried to process what had happened today.

"Do you really think it's better this way?" Jane asked as she looked at Maura.

The honey blonde swallowed. "He was never going to get better, Jane. He would have spent the rest of his life on medication and if he ever stopped taking then, the voices and hallucinations would have returned. Without medication Ryan would continue to murder women until he was stopped. Or killed. Schizophrenia is a horrible disease."

"He was his father's son. Who would have thought that they would both suffer from the same illness and commit the same crime?" Jane asked. "Did you see some of the pictures in his drawing book? He drew those images long before he killed those women. The detail was scary. The red hair, the necklace..."

"I don't think we'll ever find out if Ryan knew who or what his father was," Maura sighed. She couldn't shake the overwhelming sadness. "The voices in his head had been with him for a long time, maybe even since childhood." She heaved a sigh. "Did you tell Alex and Mike that we solved the case?"

"I got Frost to do it. I wasn't really in the mood to talk about what happened." Jane's voice was soft and laced with raw emotion. "You know what I can't get my head around? That Ryan just never got to be a normal kid. He never stood a chance."

She rubbed her forehead. She had a terrible headache and she doubted the large glass of wine had done anything to aid it. When she dropped her hands back in her lap she stared at them, at the scars that sat across the back of her hands. For a second she saw them again, covered in blood. Ryan's blood. It had reminded her of that day when Hoyt got to her. There had been blood everywhere. Across her hands, her arms and her face. Afterwards there had been only silence. Just like now.

"Are you thinking about him? About Hoyt, I mean?" Maura asked carefully when she noticed the sudden dark look in Jane's eyes.

"I don't think there will ever be a day I do not think about him," Jane answered solemnly. "The scars will always be there to remind me of him."

Maura moved closer and carefully took Jane's hands into her own. Her thumbs grazed across the swollen skin. "Maybe they should remind you of how strong you were. You saved another woman's life that day, Jane. Catherine Cordell is alive because of you and you survived what that monster did to you because you are strong. You didn't let him destroy you. He can only break you if you let him."

"I don't want to talk about Hoyt tonight," Jane said and Maura nodded in understanding. "I don't want him to become part of our life, Maura. He was never a part of you before; I don't want him to be a part of you now." Dark eyes met hazel brown and Maura could see the anguish and the pain. "I don't want him to be a part of _us_."

"Okay," Maura whispered and leant in to softly kiss Jane's lips. Just as she pulled away she could taste the salt of a lonely tear. "He'll never be a part of us."

"Have you tried calling your parents?" Jane asked. Mere minutes after leaving the crime scene Jane had called Angela and told her that she loved her, no matter how irritating she was at times. She wasn't sure what had brought it on but the urge to just hear her mother's voice had been insanely strong. Perhaps it was because of Louise Wyatt. She had accepted her son's death. When Jane asked her if she was all right she had answered that her son had died a long time ago. Jane had never heard something so powerful and profound and sad before. She admired Louise. She looked up still smiling at that memory and saw how Maura's face fell. "Oh Maura, what happened?"

"Answering machine," Maura said and averted her eyes. "The time difference with Paris is rather significant."

"Time difference my ass!" Jane said sharply and Maura looked up in surprise when she heard the sudden harshness in Jane's voice. "You'd think that any parent would find it inside themselves to call back their daughter when she leaves a message, even if it's the middle of the night or even if they've been out all day and they come back in, tired and worn out." Blazing eyes met Maura's. "What sort of parents are they?!"

"The type that's too caught up in their own lives," Maura sighed and shook her head. "It's ok, Jane. I am used to being alone. They never had much time for me when I was growing up. Why would that be any different now?"

"Because they don't see what a beautiful, smart and amazing woman you have become!" Jane flared up and she smiled when she saw Maura suddenly blushed. "They are missing out on so much, Maura." She looked down at their hands, still linked. "And don't you ever say you're alone when you have me. I am here and I am not going anywhere else."

"Not even your apartment?" Maura asked.

Jane pulled a face. "What if I say I like it here?"

"Then maybe you should stay," Maura whispered and rested her head on Jane's shoulder. "At least for tonight."

The dark haired detective looked down at their hands, Maura's fingers still covering her scars. Maura's soft hair tickled the side of her face and Jane suddenly felt as if she had finally come home. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

They would face the future together, Jane thought. Badass criminals and deranged killers couldn't keep them apart. They would solve their cases like the brilliant women they were and she would come home at night and she would take Maura in her arms, just to remind herself that this was where she belonged. Tough as nails Jane Rizzoli had finally found something that made her feel like she was part of something. She didn't have to try and be anything other than herself in front of Maura. To Maura it didn't matter she was a woman in a man's world. Maura was a woman in a world full of death. Their oddities and choices had brought them here, to this moment, and Jane was perfectly content with that.

Ryan Wyatt and Thomas Graham had been very sick men, beyond the help of anyone. Their illness made them the monster that robbed women of their lives but at the same time their illness had brought Maura into her life. Perhaps it was a sick twist of fate but Jane would be perfectly happy if she'd never have to deal with another serial killer again.

She slipped her arms around Maura's shoulders and pulled her closer, softly kissing the top of her hair. The credits on the TV had stopped rolling and Jane slowly became aware of her eyes getting heavier. Without really realising it she slipped off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep, with Maura resting against her chest. The medical examiner smiled as she softly placed a hand against Jane's heart. To feel it beating underneath her fingertips brought tears to her eyes. Jane had survived and now she was here. They would both survive. She was used to being alone but she would never have to be alone again.


End file.
